// 

. 


CONTENTS. 


I .  THE  PLAY  GROUND 1 

II .  A  STARTLING  EXPLOIT 19 

III .  THE  LAST  HOPE 34 

IV .  BENEATH  THE  TREE 49 

V.  A  TEACHER  of  THE  OLDEN  TIME 63 

VI .  CURING  TOMFOOLERY 80 

VII .  THE  APPEAL 94 

VIII .  THE  CIRCUS 109 

IX.  IN  THE  RING 123 

X.  "To    BE,    OR    NOT   TO    BE" 138 

XI .  THE  GATHERING  STORM 152 

XII .  AN  IMPORTANT  STEP 169 

XIII .  THE  FRIEND  IN  NEED 181 

XIV .  THE  FIRST  PERFORMANCE 198 

XV .  ON  THE  ROAD 216 

XVI .  A  Row  IN  PROSPECT 236 

XVII .  LOST  COMPANIONS 250 

XVIII.  THE  GOOD  SAMARITANS 267 

(iii) 

&*&.>  Ql  CALIF.  LIBRARY,  LOS  ANGELES 


2130603 


IV. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAOB 

XIX.     IN  THE  EARLY  MORNING 284 

XX.     A  SLIP 300 

XXI .     THE  CLASP  OP  THE  HAND 315 

XXII.     THE  TELEGRAPH 332 

XXIII .  THE  HOUR  AT  HAND 346 

XXIV.  CROSSING  THE  RUBICON 362 

XXV .     THE  ARKANSAS  TRAVELERS 378 

XXVI .     THE  ADVERTISEMENT 393 

XXVII .     HOME  AGAIN 410 

XXVIII .     CONCLUSION . .  419 


LIMBER  LEW. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  PLAY-GROUND. 

HP  HEY  were  having  high  times  on  the 
1       playground  of  the  Tottenville  school, 

one  summer  noon,  some  years  ago. 
The  building  stood  in  a  square  lot  at  the 
side  of  the  road,  covering  an  area  of  a 
quarter  of  an  acre;  and  beyond  this  was  a 
long  stretch  of  cool,  shady  woods,  and 
another  smaller  tract  of  timber,  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  highway. 

There  is  no  end  to  the  fun  that  a  lot  of 
school  children  can  extract  from  such 
resources  as  these.  They  can  play  "hide 
and  whoop,"  or  start  off  on  imaginary 
hunting  expeditions,  or  swing  like  monkeys 
from  the  topmost  limbs,  and  fall  sprawling 
through  the  branches  to  the  ground  below, 
without  the  least  injury. 

1 


2  LIMBER   LEW. 

In  the  autumn  time  they  can  club  the 
bursting  chestnut  burrs,  or  bring  the  hick 
ory  nuts  rattling  down  upon  the  crisp 
leaves.  Some  of  them  can  make  stealthy 
excursions  into  the  field  beyond,  where  the 
melons,  pears  and  apples  are  ripening;  for 
no  fruit  is  so  tempting  and  luscious  as  that 
which  is  forbidden. 

In  short,  the  resources  are  boundless,  and 
a  troop  of  school  children,  turned  loose  in 
such  a  place,  will  not  be  quiet  a  minute. 

But  there  was  extra  fun  to-day,  for  the 
reason  that  the  teacher  was  late.  Although 
there  was  no  such  thing  as  a  timepiece  on 
or  about  the  premises,  yet  the  children 
knew  when  to  expect  the  unwelcome  appa 
rition  of  Old  Gibbs,  as  he  was  generally 
called,  with  no  feeling  of  the  disrespect  that 
might  appear  in  the  title. 

Fully  a  score  of  youngsters  had  darted 
out  in  the  middle  of  the  dusty  road,  and 
cast  a  searching  glance  down  it,  in  the 
expectation  of  being  the  first  to  shout  the 
unwelcome  tidings. 

" There  he  comes — there  he  comes!" 


THE   PLAY-GROUND.  3 

But  they  were  disappointed.  They 
knew  exactly  where  he  would  first  be  seen, 
just  as  the  astronomer  knows  to  which 
point  of  the  heavens  he  must  direct  his 
telescope  when  a  comet  is  due. 

A  half  mile  away,  the  road  curved  so  as  to 
shut  out  all  further  view.  Just  there,  on 
the  right  of  the  road,  in  front  of  the  cider 
mill,  the  fence  was  always  whitewashed  to 
the  cleanest,  purest,  possible  degree.  The 
other  side  of  the  road  consisted  of  a  huge 
bank,  surmounted  by  a  straggling  worm 
fence. 

The  teacher  was  never  known  to  take 
that  in  going  to  or  returning  from  school; 
but  for  twenty  years  he  had  slowly  plodded 
back  and  forth,  like  some  machine  that  is 
wound  up  and  runs  down  everv  day.  No 
doubt  he  had  stepped  in  precisely  the  same 
invisible  footprints  hundreds  and  thousands 
of  times. 

Always  dressed  in  deep  black,  the  instant 
he  came  in  sight  he  was  seen  in  relief 
against  the  whit,  fence  beyond.  At  that 
distance  no  motion  of  the  arms  or  legs  was 


4  LIMBER   LEW. 

perceptible,  but  he  could  be  observed  slowly 
gliding  along  the  background,  as  the  hour 
hand  creeps  over  the  face  of  the  clock, 
coming  nearer,  nearer — shut  out  from  sight 
awhile  by  the  tall  buttonwood  that  grew  in 
the  path  in  front  of  " Jack's  House,"  until 
he  again  moved  to  view  around  the  im 
mense  trunk,  his  own  proportions  magnified 
by  the  temporary  eclipse  under  which  he 
had  been  approaching. 

But  Old  Gibbs  did  not  come,  although  he 
must  be  fully  a  quarter  of  an  hour  overdue, 
and  as  a  consequence,  the  thirty  odd  boys 
and  girls  played  more  uproarously  than 
ever.  It  would  never  do  to  lose  a  minute, 
and  so  they  well  nigh  dislocated  their  necks 
as  they  scrambled  and  tumbled  after  one 
another. 

In  one  place,  a  dozen  were  arranged  in  a 
ring,  looking  demure  and  meek,  as  each 
peeped  slyly  over  the  shoulder  at  his  or  her 
playmate,  who  was  trotting  around,  with 
a  handkerchief  in  her  hand,  awaiting  the 
chance  to  drop  it  undetected  behind  one  of 
them.  Several  others  were  jumping  a  long 


THE    PLAY-GROUND.  5 

rope,  which  a  couple  of  barefooted  gallants 
were  turning  for  the  girls.  Near  them  two 
others  grasped  each  other's  hands,  and 
with  their  toes  together,  were  swinging 
around  at  a  delirious  rate,  staring  in  each 
other's  eyes,  their  dresses  sailing  far  out, 
like  the  skirts  of  a  fashionable  dancer,  and 
suggesting  the  thought  that,  if  their  grasp 
should  break,  the  centripetal  force  would 
send  them  spinning  into  the  woods,  or 
against  the  school-house. 

A  little  fat  fellow  stands  staring  at  them, 
with  his  mouth  open,  and  his  yellow  hair 
projecting  through  the  top  of  his  straw  hat. 
Suddenly  an  urchin  runs  up  behind  him, 
and  gets  down  on  his  hands  and  knees.  At 
the  same  moment  a  confederate  approaches 
the  victim  in  front,  with  a  hypocritical 
smile,  asking  him  some  trivial  question. 
The  conversation  is  kept  up  until  they  are 
together,  when  the  plotter  suddenly  gives 
him  a  shove,  and  away  he  goes,  heels  upr 
and  turning  a  back  somersault  over  the  sly 
fellow  on  his  hands  and  knees.  All  three 
laugh,  and  the  victim  straightway  joins 


6  LIMBER    LEW. 

them  in  attempting  the  trick  upon  some  one 
else. 

Another,  perching  himself  on  the  top  rail 
of  the  fence,  grasps  an  overhanging  limb, 
and  swings  outward  a  dozen  feet  or  so,  his 
legs  drawn  up  so  as  not  to  flap  against  the 
fence  while  thus  oscillating.  If  a  stray 
wagon  goes  along,  a  half-dozen  instantly 
dart  out  and  " catch  behind." 

There  are  some  curious  facts  about  a 
boy's  fun.  He  will  seize  the  springs  of  a 
wagon,  and  run  at  full  speed  behind  it, 
enveloped  in  a  cloud  of  dust,  and  consider 
it  bliss ;  green  apples  taste  better  than  ripe 
ones,  and  both  are  luscious,  if  they  come 
from  a  forbidden  tree;  he  will  stuff  himself 
so  full  of  watermelon  that  he  is  in  the  utter 
misery  of  a  surcharged  steam-boiler,  and 
after  climbing  over  the  fence,  he  is  ready  to 
eat  as  much  more;  he  will  climb  scraggy 
trees,  tear  his  clothes  (knowing  by  experi 
ence  what  the  penalty  will  be  when  he 
reaches  home),  bark  his  shins,  and  tire 
himself  out,  for  no  earthly  reason  at  all 
except  the  mere  sport  of  doing  so. 


THE   PLAY-GROUND.  7 

Something  unusual  had  happened,  for 
never  was  Old  Gibbs  known  to  stay  away 
like  this.  One  or  two  urchins  expressed 
the  belief  that  he  had  "gone  dead;"  but 
they  did  not  seem  particularly  impressed 
thereat.  As  it  was,  they  determined  to 
improve  the  time  to  the  utmost. 

A  stranger,  looking  upon  this  joyous 
scene,  would  have  been  struck  by  the  per 
formances  of  one  boy  in  particular — his 
display  of  suppleness  and  agility  being 
wonderful.  He  seemed  about  twelve  years 
of  age,  of  rather  light  build,  and  entered 
into  the  sport  with  an  abandon  that  did  a 
person  good  to  witness. 

After  running  out  in  the  road,  and  mak 
ing  sure  that  Old  Gibbs  was  not  in  sight,  he 
gave  a  whoop,  and  with  a  scarcely  percept 
ible  effort,  turned  a  clever  somersault;  this 
was  followed  by  another  yell  and  "  flop- 
over,  "  until  he  had  executed  fully  a  half- 
dozen,  and  placed  himself  in  the  centre  of 
the  play-ground. 

These  exploits  of  Lew  Fenwick,  or  "  Lim 
ber  Lew,"  as  he  was  more  generally  called 


8  LIMBER   LEW. 

had  wellnigh  been  the  death  of  a  score  of  his 
playmates.  In  attempting  to  turn  a  "hand 
spring,"  as  they  persisted  in  calling  it,  they 
generally  alighted  upon  their  heads,  and 
were  "shook  up"  so  effectually  that  they 
were  chary  about  repeating  the  essay. 
Then  in  leaping,  running,  swimming,  and 
indeed  all  sorts  of  athletic  exercises,  the 
other  lads  were  nowhere  when  compared 
with  Lew.  He  was  a  long  and  accurate 
thrower,  and  it  was  a  treat  to  see  him  ' l  split 
an  apple,"  with  a  sharpedged  stone,  while 
the  fruit  hung  far  up  among  the  branches, 
or,  to  strike  the  gaping  chestnut  burr,  with 
a  force  that  sent  the  three  brown  chestnuts 
flying  apart,  as  if  the  burr  had  exploded. 
Having  completed  the  somersault,  Lim 
ber  Lew  dropped  on  his  hands  and  knees, 
uttered  several  sharp  cries,  precisely  like 
those  of  a  wounded  dog,  and  skurried 
across  the  play-ground  at  an  amazing 
speed,  upsetting  several  urchins  whom  he 
managed  to  take  in  his  way.  Then  he 
scrambled  upon  the  fence,  made  a  leap  at  an 
overhanging  branch,  caught  it  with  one 


THE   PLAY-GROUND.  9 

hand,  and  away  he  went  to  the  top,  as  if 
somebody  were  chasing  him  up  a  pair  of 
stairs. 

Matters  were  going  in  this  swimming 
fashion,  when  a  nurse,  pushing  a  baby- 
carriage  before  her,  paused  on  the  edge  of 
the  play-ground,  and  stood  looking  upon 
the  scene.  She  attracted  no  notice,  as  she 
frequently  passed  the  school-grounds,  and 
was  well-known  to  them  all,  as  being  a 
servant  of  Captain  Rudolph  Reynolds,  a 
wealthy  man,  whose  country-seat  was  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  distant.  On  pleasant 
afternoons,  it  was  her  custom  to  push  the 
handsome  carriage,  and  its  much  hand 
somer  occupant,  along  the  road,  under  the 
shade  of  the  overhanging  trees,  where  she 
lingered  for  an  hour  or  two,  enjoying  the 
delightful  recreation  as  much  as  the  six- 
month-old  infant  did  in  her  way. 

The  children  felt  no  special  interest  in 
babies,  for  the  reason  that  most  of  them 
had  such  luxuries  at  home.  Lew  Fenwick, 
obesrving  the  carriage  standing  on  the  edge 
of  the  play-ground,  ran  toward  it,  and  to 


10  LIMBER   LEW. 

the  dismay  of  Bridget,  turned  one  of  his 
inevitable  somersaults  over  it. 

"Ye  little  spalpeen!"  she  shouted,  indig 
nantly,  as  landing  upon  his  feet,  he  instant 
ly  reversed  the  exploit  and  went  backward 
over  the  carriage  again,  "do  you  want  to 
kill  me  jewel?  Have  done  wid  your  non 


sense.' 


"I  did'nt  hurt  it  any,  did  I?"  asked  the 
lad,  pausing  and  looking  down  in  the  chub 
by  face,  as  if  searching  for  wounds.  "What 
is  the  matter  with  it?" 

"S'pose  your  foot  had  thripped  when  in 
the  air,  and  ye  stumbled  into  the  carriage 
and  mashed  the  little  darling? — then  ye'd 
be  hung  for  arson  and  ye'd  say  all  your  life 
that  ye'd  been  sarved  right." 

"But  when  a  fellow  is  in  the  air,  Bridget, 
there  isn't  anything  for  him  to  stumble 
against." 

"Arrah,  be  off  now  wid  your  nonsense!" 
was  the  impatient  rejoinder  of  the  loyal 
nurse.  "S'pose  ye  were  struck  by  a  whirl 
wind  or  an  arthquake,  when  above  the 
ground,  ye  can't  tell  where  ye'll  light?  If 


THE   PLAY-GROUND.  11 

ye  thry  any  more  of  your  thricks  around 
the  swatest  baby  the  world  ever  knew,  I'll 
lay  ye  over  my  knee,  and  whack  it  out  of 
ye!" 

Exactly  how  this  interview  would  have 
terminated  can  hardly  be  conjectured,  for 
when  it  was  assuming  an  interesting  phase, 
a  most  unlooked-for  diversion  took  place. 

A  sudden  screaming  was  heard  from  the 
play-ground,  and  looking  in  that  direction, 
the  youngsters  were  seen  scampering  for 
the  school-house  in  consternation. 

Suddenly,  no  one  could  tell  from  where, 
a  large  monkey  had  leaped  among  them, 
landing  upon  the  shoulders  of  a  boy,  and, 
whisking  over  the  head  of  another,  terrified 
both  as  much  as  if  a  Bengal  tiger  had 
dropped  upon  them. 

Most  of  the  children  tumbled  and  scram 
bled  into  the  building,  screeching,  looking 
back  over  their  shoulders,  and  so  impeding 
one  another  in  their  flight  that  a  much 
slower  creature  could  have  overtaken  them 
all. 

Several  of  the  boys  ran  behind  the  school- 


12  LIMBER   LEW. 

house,  and  one  or  two  began  hastily  climb 
ing  trees,  as  if  that  could  be  any  refuge 
from  such  a  creature  as  a  monkey. 

Sitting  in  a  row,  under  the  shadow  of  the 
overhanging  foilage,  were  a  number  of 
baskets  and  "blickies,"  or  tin-pails,  con 
taining  the  remnants  of  the  dinners  of  the 
respective  owners. 

Finding  himself  left  alone  upon  the  play 
ground,  the  monkey  galloped  toward  these, 
and  began  overhauling  each  in  turn.  Wher 
ever  there  was  a  piece  of  meat,  cake  or 
bread,  he  handled  and  munched  it  with  the 
deftness  of  a  veteran,  and  with  an  appetite 
that  seemed  insatiable. 

This  action  of  their  Darwinian  brother 
seemed  to  establish  a  link  between  him  and 
the  youngsters.  The  fright  was  turned 
to  amusement,  and  screams  of  laughter 
were  heard  from  the  boys  and  girls,  who 
were  hanging  half  out  of  the  windows,  or 
peering  from  their  other  hiding  places. 

One  girl  was  disposed  to  cry,  as  she  saw 
the  animal  demolishing  a  piece  of  pound 
cake,  with  frosting  on  the  top,  which  she 


THE  PLAY-GROUND.  13 

had  been  carrying  for  nearly  a  week,  con 
sidering  it  too  good  to  eat;  but  she  finally 
joined  the  others,  and  so  the  fun  went  on. 

Having  filled  himself  from  the  contents 
of  the  lunch-baskets,  the  monkey  proceeded 
to  indulge  in  those  antics  which  come 
naturally  to  his  species. 

The  boys,  growing  bolder,  and  ventur 
ing  from  their  hiding-places,  began  teasing 
him  by  poking  sticks  at  him,  and  shouting 
all  sorts  of  fancy  names. 

He  enjoyed  it  all  as  much  as  they — and 
could  the  youngsters  have  been  assured 
that  the  teacher  would  not  put  in  an  ap 
pearance  all  that  afternoon,  nothing  could 
have  exceeded  their  happiness. 

But  they  had  no  more  than  fairly  entered 
into  the  enjoyment,  when  one  of  their 
number — all  having  swarmed  out  of  doors — 
raised  the  cry: 

"Old  Gibbs  is  coming!" 

Instantly  half  the  school  dashed  out  into 
the  road,  to  see  whether  the  dreadful  news 
was  true. 

Yes;  he  could  be  plainly  seen  far  down 


14  LIMBER   LEW. 

the  road,  his  dark  form  in  relief  against  the 
white  back-ground  of  the  fence,  as  he 
moved  slowly  in  front  of  the  old  cider- 
house.  Late  as  he  unquestionably  was, 
there  was  and  could  be  no  perceptible  hurry 
in  his  footsteps. 

Such  being  the  case,  the  boys  hastened 
with  their  frolic.  The  monkey  was  frisking 
among  the  children  as  if  he  believed  he  was 
one  of  them,  and  they,  having  lost  all  fear, 
danced  and  shouted  with  delight.  He 
seemed  particularly  partial  to  the  girls,  and 
it  looked  very  much  as  if  some  of  the  bare 
footed  gallants  would  become  jealous  of  his 
attentions,  if  things  went  on. 

No  one  enjoyed  the  fun  more  than 
Bridget,  the  Irish  nurse,  who,  at  the  first 
appearance  of  the  creature,  gave  utterance 
to  a  wild  shriek,  and  started  for  home  in  a 
whirl  of  terror.  Before  she  had  gone  far, 
however,  she  recalled  that  she  had  left  the 
baby  behind,  and  she  dashed  back  in 
greater  dismay  than  ever. 

By  the  time  she  reached  the  carriage  and 
its  precious  occupant,  she  had  cooled  down 


THE   PLAY-GROUND.  15 

and  saw  that  there  was  no  cause  for 
alarm. 

The  children  were  on  the  play-ground, 
around  the  frolicsome  fellow,  and  desirous 
of  seeing  all  that  was  going  on,  she  pushed 
the  carriage  forward  and  joined  the  group. 

Thus  matters  proceeded  until  the  teacher 
was  obscured  by  the  great  poplar  trunk 
in  front  of  Jack's  House,  to  which  we  have 
alluded ;  and  the  children,  with  a  sorrowful 
regret  which  can  hardly  be  imagined,  felt 
that  their  primest  entertainment  could  last 
but  a  few  minutes  longer. 

The  monkey  still  darting  here  and  there, 
the  girls  generally  recoiling  with  a  scream, 
whenever  he  came  too  close,  and  instantly 
closing  about  him  again. 

"I  wonder  where  he  came  from,"  ex 
claimed  Sue  Williams,  for  the  dozenth  time. 

"He  came  from  Afriky,  of  course," 
replied  Billy  Huggins,  who  missed  his  les 
sons  every  day,  and  yet  thought  he  knew 
more  than  all  the  rest  of  the  school  together. 

"Well,  how  did  he  get  here?"  persisted 
the  young  lady,  keeping  her  eye  on  the 


16  LIMBER   LEW. 

monkey,  while  she  continued  questioning 
the  young  naturalist. 

"Swum,  I  s'pose,  or  else  some  one  fetched 
him  over  in  a  ship." 

"Think  you  know  everything,  Bill  Hug- 
gins,  and  you  don't  know  anything.  Of 
course  he  came  from  some  country  away 
off  thousands  of  miles,  but  how  did  he  get 
here?  I  don't  know  any  monkeys  but  you, 
that  grow  in  this  country." 

"Mebbe  he  growed  up  in  the  woods.  I 
don't  see  why  he  couldn't.  If  they  live 
in  the  woods  in  Afriky,  why  can't  they  live 
in  the  woods  here?  That's  what  I'd  like  to 
know.  Come  to  think,  too,  I've  heard 
something  like  a  monkey  when  I've  been 
out  in  the  woods,  and  I'll  bet  it  was  this 
same  one. 

Although  uttered  in  all  seriousness,  the 
two  or  three  who  heard  Billy's  declaration 
greeted  it  with  a  laugh.  It  wasn't  the  kind 
of  statement  to  believe,  especially  when 
made  by  such  a  youngster  as  he  was  known 
to  be. 

"What  do  you  think  about  it,  Lew?" 


THE    PLAY-GROUND.  17 

asked  Sue,  as  the  lad  to  whom  we  have 
made  reference  appeared  beside  them. 

"He's  run  away  from  some  show.  Meb- 
be  he's  been  a  partner  with  an  Italian,  and 
got  mad  and  left  him,  because  he  didn't 
feed  him  enough." 

"I  should  think  so,  from  the  way  he  went 
into  our  dinners." 

"You  mean  from  the  way  our  dinners 
went  into  him.  And  there,  by  George!" 
exclaimed  Lew,  like  a  boy  who  has  made 
some  astounding  discovery — "there  is  a 
circus  and  menagerie  down  at  Birmingham. 
I  saw  the  picture  in  the  paper  at  home,  and 
I  wanted  father  to  let  me  go,  but  he 
wouldn't.  That  must  be  it,  sure." 

"Why  didn't  we  think  of  that?"  said 
Sue,  admiring  the  smartness  of  Lew.  "We 
all  knowed  there  was  a  circus  there,  and 
brother  Tom  promised  to  take  me  to-night. 
I'll  get  him  to  ask  the  keeper  about  it,  and 
mebbe  he'll  let  us  in  for  nothing." 

"I  guess  I'll  try  that  on  myself— 

Further  words  were  checked  by  Bridget, 
the  nurse,  who  uttered  a  scream  and  in- 


18  LIMBER  LEW. 

stantly  all  were  spell-bound,  for  the  mo 
ment,  over  an  exploit  of  the  specimen  of 
quadrumana  they  were  talking  about. 


A    STARTLING   EXPLOIT.  19 


CHAPTER  II. 

A  STARTLING  EXPLOIT. 

AT  one  leap,  the  monkey  sprang  upon  the 
broad  shoulders  of  Bridget,  and 
clawed  down  her  waterfall;  and 
then,  with  another  terrific  bound,  alighted 
on  the  back  of  Old  Gibbs,  the  teacher, 
snatched  off  his  hat,  put  it  on  his  own  head, 
scampered  along  the  fence,  and  perching 
upon  the  top  of  a  post,  turned  about  and 
chattered  at  the  crowd,  well  aware  that  he 
had  done  the  most  comical  thing  imag 
inable. 

It  was  dangerous  to  laugh  at  any  mishap 
of  the  teacher,  and  yet  the  children  would 
have  done  it  had  they  known  that  death 
itself  was  to  be  the  result.  Young  human 
nature  could  not  stand  it,  and  the  cachinna- 
tion  that  went  through  that  group  of  school 
children  was  enough  to  choke  them. 

Mr.  Gibbs  made  a  frantic  clutch  after  his 
silk  hat  as  it  was  whisked  off  his  head,  but 


20  LIMBER   LEW. 

he  was  just  too  late,  and  he  stared  like  one 
paralyzed  at  the  audacity  of  the  robber. 
Then,  as  he  heard  the  laughter,  he  looked 
sternly  at  his  school,  with  a  frown  dreadful 
enough  to  freeze  their  blood ;  and  finally,  he 
began  moving  stealthily  toward  the  thief, 
his  cane  firmly  grasped,  with  the  expecta 
tion  of  getting  near  enough  to  deliver  a 
whack  upon  its  pate,  that  would  make  it 
glad  enough  to  drop  the  pilfered  head 
piece. 

The  children  suddenly  became  silentr 
deeply  interested  in  the  proceeding,  while 
the  monkey  sat  still,  perched  upon  the  post, 
the  hat  still  on  the  back  of  his  head,  which 
hardly  half-filled  the  covering,  while  he 
kept  moving  his  jaws,  as  if  munching 
invisible  food,  his  manner  and  appearance 
being  funny  enough  to  make  the  crossest 
curmudgeon  in  the  world  split  his  sides 
with  laughter. 

It  looked  as  if  the  pedagogue  were  about 
to  succeed,  for  he  approached  within  a 
dozen  feet  without  his  victim  stirring  from 
his  position.  Suddenly  Mr.  Gibbs  made  a 


A   STARTLING   EXPLOIT.  21 

leap  forward,  and  struck  a  tremendous 
blow  with  his  cane. 

"I'll  teach  you  manners,  you  little  imp!" 

But  the  stick  struck  the  post  instead, 
jarring  the  hand  that  descended;  and  the 
monkey,  with  inimitable  dexterity,  drop 
ped  upon  the  ground  on  the  other  side,  the 
prize  still  in  his  possession. 

The  baffled  teacher  stood  staring  at  the 
provoking  animal ;  and  in  a  rage  that  could 
not  find  expression  in  words,  flung  his  cane 
to  the  ground,  and  started  toward  the 
school-house. 

Thereupon  the  animal  did  precisely  as  it 
is  recorded  a  number  of  them  once  did,  in 
the  case  of  a  sailor  from  whom  they  had 
stolen  a  number  of  caps  while  he  was 
asleep. 

He  snatched  the  hat  off  his  head  and 
threw  it  down  at  his  feet.  The  instant 
he  did  so,  Limber  Lew  sprang  over  the 
fence,  caught  it  up,  and  overtook  the 
teacher,  who  was  still  striding  toward  the 
school  building,  unaware  of  the  clever  per 
formance  of  his  pupil. 


22  LIMBER  LEW. 

"Here,  Mr.  Gibbs,  is  your  hat,  and  you'd 
better  hold  fast  to  it." 

"Be  careful,  young  man,  and  don't  give 
me  any  of  your  impudence,"  admonished 
the  teacher,  accepting  the  proffered  article, 
without  the  least  acknowledgment  of  the 
favor. 

And  then,  without  deigning  to  explain 
to  the  pupils  that  his  own  tardiness  had 
arisen  from  his  taking  too  long  a  nap  after 
dinner,  he  entered  the  house,  walked  to  his 
desk,  took  up  his  ferule,  and  advanced  to 
the  window,  with  the  purpose  of  summon 
ing  the  children  to  their  studies  by  rapping 
upon  the  sash,  as  was  his  custom. 

Before  he  could  do  so  he  was  startled  by 
a  scream  and  through  the  window  he 
witnessed  a  scene  which  stirred  even  his 
sluggish  blood,  and  caused  him  to  hurry 
out-doors,  ferule  in  hand,  muttering,  as  he 
did  so: 

" Heavens  and  earth!  what  is  the  imp  of 
Satan  doing?" 

Well  might  he  utter  the  ejaculation,  for 
the  monkey,  before  any  one  could  suspect 


A  STARTLING   EXPLOIT.  23 

its  purpose,  had  seized  the  crowing  infant 
from  its  carriage,  and  running  with  great 
speed  across  the  play-ground,  leaped  upon 
the  fence,  then  upon  a  limb,  and  clambered 
up  a  tree,  apparently  with  as  much  ease  as 
if  it  carried  not  a  feather's  weight  with  him. 

Higher  and  higher  he  kept  going,  until 
he  was  compelled  to  pause  at  last,  because 
he  was  nearing  the  topmost  boughs,  and 
could  go  no  higher. 

He  held  the  little  one  clasped  about  with 
one  arm,  just  as  a  person  would  have  done 
under  similar  circumstances,  and  looked 
down  upon  the  horrified  group,  as  if  invit 
ing  them  to  admire  his  performance. 

Poor  Bridget,  the  nurse,  was  wringing 
her  hands,  moaning  and  crying  in  agony,  as 
she  walked  about  in  a  circle,  scarcely  con 
scious  of  what  she  was  doing. 

"Oh,  the  darlint!  May  the  saints  for 
give  me!  It  is  kilt  intirely!  Why  did  I 
lave  it  alone?  Why  did  I  come  to  this 
counthry  to  have  me  heart  broke  this  way? 
I'll  die — I'll  die — and  Captain  Reynolds 
and  me  missis  will  go  clean  daft,  for  the 


24  LIMBER  LEW. 

raisin  that  one  of  their  childers  was  stole 
from  thim  a  long  time  ago,  and  now  this 
one  is  kilt!  Oh,  dear!  oh,  dear!  oh  dear!'* 

The  children  stood  spell-bound,  no  one 
speaking,  but  all  staring  with  open  mouths 
and  white  faces  at  the  appalling  exhibition, 
the  like  of  which  no  one  had  ever  seen 
before. 

The  monkey  was  fully  fifty  feet  from  the 
ground,  so  high  among  the  branches  that 
the  top  of  the  tree  perceptibly  bent  with 
the  combined  weight  of  himself  and  infant. 

Even  in  that  terrible  minute,  the  teacher 
wondered  at  the  astonishing  strength  dis 
played  by  the  abductor.  True  he  was 
unusually  large,  but  so  was  the  baby;  and 
yet,  in  running  up  the  tree,  he  did  not  show 
that  it  was  any  perceptible  impediment  to 
him. 

As  we  have  said  already,  his  left  arm  was 
thrown  around  the  back  of  the  infant,  which 
was  handled  as  if  he  was  accustomed  to 
such  business. 

The  scene  in  the  tree  was  enough  to 
chill  the  blood  of  the  bravest  man.  In  the 


A    STARTLING    EXPLOIT.  25 

very  topmost  branches  was  perched  the 
monkey,  his  black  mouth  moving  with  a 
quick,  champing  motion,  as  if  he  had  some 
thing  between  his  teeth. 

His  bright,  restless  eyes  seemed  to  twinkle 
like  stars  as  he  moved  his  head  from  side  to 
side,  and  his  countenance  looked  hideously 
black  and  repulsive,  so  resembling  and  yet 
so  in  contrast  to  the  human  face. 

The  baby  proved  its  claim  to  the  oft- 
repeated  assertion  of  its  nurse,  that  it  was 
the  best  one  in  the  world. 

Its  long  white  dress  flowed  down  over 
the  limb  upon  which  its  terrible  captor 
crouched ;  its  head,  covered  with  a  few  small 
golden  curls,  was  without  other  covering; 
its  chubby  cheeks  were  as  rosy  and  round  as 
apples;  and  its  big  blue  eyes  frequently 
wandered  to  the  wrinkled  front  of  the  mon 
key,  as  if  in  doubt  whether  he  was  its  legally 
appointed  guardian  or  not. 

It  would  be  interesting  if  we  could  com 
prehend  the  strange  ideas  that  must  have 
flickered  through  its  brain,  but  whatever 
they  were  can  never  be  known.  Viewe 


26  LIMBER   LEW. 

from  the  ground,  it  looked  very  much  as  if 
it  were  ready  to  break  out  into  a  cry;  but  as 
yet  it  held  its  peace. 

The  consternation  of  those  looking  at  the 
picture  cannot  be  imagined.  The  nurse 
had  her  apron  to  her  eyes,  and  was  wander 
ing  vaguely  about,  mourning  and  heart 
broken.  All  at  once,  she  started  on  a  run 
for  home,  directly  across  the  fields,  impelled 
by  the  hope  that,  somehow  or  other,  relief 
might  be  obtained  there. 

The  girls  and  boys  stared,  white  and 
gasping,  or  whispering  to  one  another  their 
exclamations  of  terror. 

Just  in  the  rear  of  them  towered  the  form 
of  Gibbs,  the  teacher,  who  never  once 
removed  his  eye  from  the  couple  in  the  tree- 
top.  What  was  to  be  the  result  of  all  this 
was  to  him  a  greater  problem  than  any 
thing  he  had  ever  attacked  in  Euclid.  He 
could  think  of  nothing  to  do  to  avert  the 
threatened  death,  and  he  was  motionless 
and  speechless. 

Suddenly  a  boy  shot  forward  from  the 
gaping  group,  and  ran  toward  the  tree. 


A   STARTLING   EXPLOIT.  27 

"Stop!"  commanded  the  teacher, 
"What  do  you  want  to  do?" 

"  I  was  going  to  climb  the  tree,  and  try  to 
get  the  baby  away  from  him,"  replied  Lew 
Fenwick,  pausing  abruptly,  and  looking 
back  for  the  coveted  permission. 

But  the  teacher  shook  his  head. 

"Impossible!  you  could  only  make  him 
drop  the  infant,  and  cause  its  death.  It 
won't  do  to  disturb  him." 

The  lad  dare  not  go  contrary  to  such  a 
command  as  that,  and  he  reluctantly  re 
joined  hisjplaymates,  muttering,  as  he  did  so . 

"If  we  only  had  something  for  the  baby 
to  fall  on,  mebbe  it  wouldn't  be  killed  at  all. ' 

Gibbs  overheard  the  words,  and  caught 
the  idea.  He  looked  hurriedly  around,  but 
saw  nothing  that  could  be  made  to  answer 
the  purpose. 

"John,  James  and  William,"  said  he, 
recalling  the  three  lads  from  their  daze, 
"run  down  to  Jack's  House  and  bring  a 
feather  bed  with  you.  Tell  him  I  sent  you, 
and  it's  a  case  of  life  and  death,  and  there 
mustn't  be  a  second's  delay," 


28  LIMBER   LEW. 

Away  went  the  three  on  a  hard  run,  as 
eager  to  do  something  for  the  baby,  now 
that  the  way  was  opened,  as  if  it  were  the 
sister  of  them  all. 

Jack's  House,  as  we  have  intimated, 
stood  but  a  short  distance  from  the  school. 
It  faced  the  road,  and  was  near  the  huge 
buttonwood,  which  eclipsed  any  pedestrian 
in  going  up  or  down  the  highway.  It 
was  a  small,  ordinary-looking  cabin,  and 
there  was  some  legend  about  its  being 
haunted  by  the  " materialized"  spirit  of  old 
Jack  Booz,  who  was  shot  on  the  premises 
many  years  before.  It  was  now  occupied 
by  an  old  German — also  called  Jack — with 
his  frau,  both  honest  and  hard  working, 
and  very  manifestly  in  little  sympathy  with 
the  bugaboo  business. 

Jack  was  at  work  at  Captain  Reynolds, 
and  when  the  terrified  demand  was  made 
upon  Katrina  for  a  feather  bed,  she  wanted 
to  know  what  was  the  matter. 

Remembering  the  admonition  of  their 
teacher  to  permit  no  delay,  they  replied  by 
dancing  about  and  repeating  their  demand 


A   STARTLING   EXPLOIT.  29 

in  a  more  excited  manner  than  ever;  while 
she  stared  at  them,  wondering  if  they  were 
crazy,  or,  what  seemed  more  likely  to  her, 
trying  to  play  some  boyish  trick  upon  her. 

It  is  scarcely  probable  that  they  would 
have  succeeded  in  their  purpose,  but  for  the 
sudden  appearance  of  Jack  himself. 

He  had  been  at  Captain  Reynolds'  house 
when  Bridget  pitched  upon  the  porch,  with 
the  awful  story  of  what  had  happened. 

Despite  her  frantic  terror,  the  situation 
was  quickly  taken  in  by  the  father  and 
mother,  the  former  of  whom  displayed  re 
markable  presence  of  mind. 

"Run,  Jack,"  said  he,"  and  take  your 
feather  bed  for  the  baby  to  fall  upon.  I 
will  be  there  right  behind  you." 

He  paused  only  long  enough  to  dart  into 
the  house  and  catch  up  his  rifle.  His  wife 
gave  utterance  to  several  shrieks,  and 
dropped  into  a  chair,  in  hysterics.  He 
shouted  to  a  colored  servant  to  look  after 
her  mistress,  and  without  stopping  started 
on  a  run  in  the  direction  of  the  school- 
house,  gun  in  hand.  He  loved  his  wife  as 


30  LIMBER   LEW. 

much  as  man  can  love  woman,  but  her  life 
was  in  no  danger,  while  that  of  his  baby 
daughter  was,  and  it  might  all  depend  upon 
a  second  of  time  whether  she  was  saved  or 
not. 

In  the  meantime,  the  lusty  German  was 
not  idle.  He  started  off  with  an  agility 
remarkable  in  one  so  bulky,  and  reached  his 
own  house  a  few  minutes  after  the  three 
messengers  despatched  by  the  teacher. 

Without  pausing  to  learn  their  errand,  he 
dashed  into  the  house  and  up  stairs,  and, 
as  one  of  the  boys  expressed  it,  "  snatched 
the  bed  bare-headed. ' '  Being  a  poor  man, 
Jack's  luxury  in  the  feather  line  extended 
no  further  than  those  that  had  been  plucked 
from  hens,  and  not  from  geese,  but  it  was 
likely  to  answer  the  purpose  if  it  could  only 
be  gotten  there  in  time.  It  was  soggy  and 
heavy,  but  flinging  it  over  his  shoulder,  he 
started  up  the  road  on  a  rapid  run. 

The  excitement  at  the  school-house  had 
grown,  if  possible,  more  intense  than  ever. 
The  baby,  after  maintaining  silence  for  a 
few  minutes,  indulged  in  a  slight  whimper; 


A   STARTLING  EXPLOIT.  31 

whereupon  the  monkey  began  rocking  it, 
precisely  as  he  had  no  doubt  seen  nurses  do 
on  many  an  occasion  when  they  were  view 
ing  his  antics. 

A  moment  later  he  began  descending 
from  his  elevation,  and  all  trembled  with 
the  hope  that  he  was  about  to  come  to  the 
ground  and  restore  the  baby  to  its  place  in 
the  carriage ;  but  he  only  moved  some  six  or 
eight  feet,  to  where  there  were  larger  limbs, 
upon  one  of  which  he  paused,  and  began 
working  his  way  out  toward  the  end. 

Every  breath  was  held  in  the  expectation 
that  he  would  lose  his  hold,  and  either  fall 
with  the  little  one  to  the  ground,  or  else, 
saving  himself,  permit  it  to  be  dashed  to 
death  upon  the  hard  earth  below ;  but  with 
the  dexterity  that  is  natural  to  the  simian 
species,  he  worked  his  way  out  and  came  to  a 
rest  again — still  perched  at  a  dizzying  height, 
and  with  the  suspense  as  painful  as  ever. 

Thus  matters  stood  when  Mr.  Reynolds 
and  his  hired  man,  Jack,  arrived  on  the 
spot,  almost  at  the  same  moment;  the 
former,  however,  slightly  in  advance. 


32  LIMBER  LEW. 

" Stand  back!"  commanded  the  teacher 
to  the  children,  feeling  that  on  an  occasion 
like  this  the  father  should  be  director  of 
proceedings.  "Make  way  for  Captain  Rey 
nolds." 

The  latter  gentleman  had  been  a  hunter 

in  his  early  days,  having  spent  several  years 

1  in  the  wilds  of  Asia  and  Africa,  and  he  held 

in  his  hand  the  rifle  which  had  accompanied 

him  in  all  his  perilous  adventures. 

"Jack,"  said  he,  turning  toward  his 
servant,  and  speaking  with  a  military 
curtness,  "place  the  tick  directly  under  the 
baby,  so  as  to  catch  it  as  it  falls." 

The  German  was  in  such  a  hurry  to  obey 
that  he  hindered  rather  than  hastened 
matters.  When  he  looked  up  through  the 
leaves,  and  thought  he  was  in  about  the 
right  spot,  he  dumped  the  soggy  load  upon 
the  ground,  and  hastily  spread  it  out  and 
patted  it  down  level,  as  he  had  done  many 
a  time  before  he  had  brought  his  frau 
Katrina  home  to  keep  house  for  him. 

When  this  was  completed,  Captain  Rey 
nolds  called  out  to  him  that  he  was  much 


A  STARTLING   EXPLOIT.  33 

too  far  to  the  left,  and  he  was  required  to 
shift  it  several  times,  before  the  right  loca 
tion  was  struck. 

All  this  time  the  father  was  the  most  self- 
possessed  of  any.  His  face  was  a  little 
whiter  than  usual  and  a  close  observer 
would  have  observed  a  sparkle  of  the  eye 
which  showed  that  his  excitement  was  none 
the  less  because  he  held  it  under  control. 
His  moustache  and  goatee  were  streaked 
with  gray,  and  he  stood  as  firm  as  adamant. 

"That  will  do/'  said  he.  "Now  stand 
out  of  the  way,  Jack,  for  it  will  be  better  not 
to  try  to  catch  it." 

"What  are  you  going  to  do?" 

"Shoot  the  monkey !"  was  the  calm  reply. 


34  LTMBEB   LEW. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    LAST    HOPE. 

"*HE  scene  at  this  moment  was  painfully 

1       thrilling.     It  seemed  that  no  one  in 

the  entire  group  so  much  as  breathed, 

much  less  stirred.     The  eyes  of  every  man 

and  child  were  fixed  upon  the  monkey  and 

infant,  the  teacher  now  and  then  glancing 

at  the  statue-like  figure  of  the  father,  as  he 

deliberately  raised  his  rifle  and  pointed  it 

toward  the  crouching  animal,  far  out  upon 

the  limb. 

Suppose  he  should  miss  the  creature,  and 
hit  his  own  infant  daughter?  The  thought 
was  horrifying,  and  yet  it  came  to  the 
smallest  child  in  the  group.  Suppose  the 
bullet  should  bore  its  way  through  the  skull 
of  the  monkey,  and  the  little  one  were 
caught  upon  the  bed  below,  what  could  save 
it  from  being  killed,  on  its  way  through  the 
branches  and  among  the  limbs? 


THE   LAST  HOPE.  35 

Impelled  by  that  wonderful  cunning  which 
these  creatures  sometimes  display,  it  was 
likely  to  comprehend  the  whole  proceedings, 
and  defeat  their  purpose  by  flinging  the 
infant  far  from  it,  so  that  it  would  fall  upon 
the  hard  earth,  unless  some  one  were  nimble 
footed  and  dexterous  enough  to  catch  it. 

The  distressing  silence  was  broken  by  a 
scream,  and  those  who  turned  their  heads, 
saw  Bridget  and  the  mother  hurrying 
across  the  field.  The  finger  of  the  father  at 
that  moment  was  pressing  the  trigger,  when 
he  relaxed  it  and  glanced  in  the  direction  of 
the  sound,  without  lowering  his  weapon. 
The  next  instant  he  brought  back  his  gaze, 
and  his  eye  once  more  ran  along  the  gleam 
ing  barrel. 

At  this  critical  juncture,  sure  enough,  the 
shrewd  monkey  detected  what  it  all  meant, 
and  shifted  his  position,  so  that  he  was 
partly  hidden  by  the  chubby  form  of  the 
baby,  while  he  peered  over  its  plump 
shoulder,  and  looked  down  in  the  face  of  the 
hunter,  grinning  and  champing,  as  if  to  ask 
him  what  he  thought  of  that  performance. 


36  LIMBER   LEW. 

Had  the  circumstances  been  different, 
this  would  have  made  little  odds  to  such  a 
skillful  rifleman  as  Captain  Reynolds;  but 
never  were  his  nerves  tested  as  now.  The 
slightest  deflection  in  the  bullet  would  send 
it  through  the  body  of  his  darling  child,  and 
bring  it  tumbling  a  corpse  at  his  feet.  Des 
pite  his  wonderous  self-command,  his  hand 
trembled  and  he  suddenly  lowered  his  piece. 

" What's  the  matter?"  asked  Jack,  who 
had  shut  his .  eyes  in  anticipation  of  the 
report,  and  now  opened  them,  as  his  master 
lowered  the  weapon. 

"I  can't  do  it;  my  hand  trembles,  and 
there's  too  much  risk. " 

"Let  me  take  the  gun.  Doneration,  if 
I  don't  shoot  him  quicker  than  never  vas!" 

Captain  Reynolds  shook  his  head. 

"No  man  shall  attempt  that  which  I  am 
afraid  to  undertake  myself.  Perhaps  I  will 
become  more  collected  after  a  bit.  Mr. 
Gibbs,  suppose  you  pass  around  to  the 
other  side  of  the  tree,  and  point  your  cane 
at  him.  That  may  induce  him  to  uncover 
so  as  to  give  me  a  chance." 


THE   LAST   HOPE.  37 

An  aged  school-teacher  dislikes  to  do 
nothing  more  than  that  which  appears 
undignified,  and  a  qualm  of  repugnance 
passed  through  the  instructor  when  he 
heard  this  request ;  but  it  vanished  the  next 
instant,  when  he  reflected  upon  the  mo 
mentous  consequences  at  stake,  and  with 
no  perceptible  hesitation,  he  stalked  to  the 
opposite  side  of  the  tree,  where  he  raised  his 
hickory  cane  and  leveled  it  at  the  imp  aloft. 

But  the  latter  was  not  to  be  deceived  by 
such  means.  A  sly  glance  at  the  peda 
gogue  showed  him  nothing  was  to  be  feared 
from  that  quarter,  and  without  bestowing 
any  more  attention  upon  him,  he  kept  the 
captain  under  the  eye. 

Scarcely  any  one  noticed  that  closely 
following  the  teacher  went  Lew  Fenwicky 
who  stationed  himself  directly  behind  him. 

While  the  old  gentleman  was  still  sighting 
over  his  harmless  stick  the  lad  suddenly 
drew  back,  and  hurled  a  goodly-sized  stone, 
with  might  and  main. 

With  a  peculiar  zipzip,  it  cut  through  the 
intervening  leaves,  and  struck  the  monkey, 


38  LIMBER   LEW. 

fairly  and  squarely,  in  the  middle  of  the 
back. 

With  a  scream  of  pain  and  rage,  he  ran 
along  the  limb  to  its  junction  with  the 
trunk,  and  then  instantly  back  again,  while 
he  looked  here,  there  and  everywhere,  with 
lightning-like  quickness,  as  if  seeking  some 
refuge  from  the  fire  which  threatened  him 
in  front  and  rear. 

"What  is  the  meaning  of  that?"  asked 
Captain  Reynolds,  who  saw  that  some 
thing  had  been  done,  although  he  did  not 
understand  what  it  was. 

"Limber  Lew  hit  him  with  a  stone," 
replied  one  of  the  boys;  "and  he  knows  how 
to  do  it  too.", 

"In  the  name  of  heaven,  don't  try  that 
again!"  called  out  the  alarmed  father,  as 
the  young  David  walked  toward  him. 
"Suppose  you  had  hit  the  baby?" 

"But  I  didn't,"  said  Lew,  with  a  modest 
confidence,  "and  I  can  plug  that  critter 
every  time.  I  aimed  at  his  back,  and  now 
I'll  hit  him  in  the  head,  and  I  bet  you  he'll 
see  stars!" 


THE    LAST   HOPE.  39 

"You  musn't  think  of  it!"  said  the 
captain,  sternly,  unwilling  to  believe  that 
it  was  possible  to  repeat  such  a  throw. 
"I'd  rather  take  the  risk  of  my  gun." 

"Young  man,  you're  altogether  too  for 
ward,  "  remarked  the  teacher,  with  a  frownr 
recalling  the  many  times  he  had  been  com 
pelled  to  chastise  him  on  account  of  his 
overflowing  physical  life.  "Before  you  try 
such  a  thing,  ask  permission  sir?" 

The  reproved  lad  shrank  back  among  his 
playmates  to  avoid  the  batteries  of  eyes 
that  were  turned  upon  him,  and  straightway 
began  conjuring  up  some  other  plan  for 
circumventing  the  cunning  abductor. 

At  this  juncture,  the  mother  and  servant 
arrived  upon  the  scene,  white  and  gasping. 

"Oh,  my  child — my  child!"  wailed  the 
former,  wringing  her  hands,  and  scarcely 
able  to  stand  from  exhaustion  and  terror. 
"Cannot  we  save  her,  dear  husband?" 

"Keep  quiet — compose  yourself,  dear 
est!"  said  he,  tenderly.  "Don't  distract 
me  by  your  grief.  There  is  hope  of  rescu 
ing  the  baby." 


40  LIMBER   LEW. 

The  poor  mother,  woe-stricken  almost 
beyond  endurance,  did  her  best  to  master 
her  emotions,  while  he  tried  to  concentrate 
himself  upon  the  fearful  work  before  him. 
It  was  plain,  however,  that  the  presence  of 
his  wife  had  unnerved  him  somewhat, 
though  he  made  almost  superhuman  efforts 
to  overcome  it. 

Gun  in  hand,  he  walked  deliberately 
around  the  tree,  until  he  stood  out  some 
distance  on  the  other  side,  when  he  again 
raised  his  weapon. 

But  the  alert  monkey  understood  whom 
he  was  to  fear,  and  he  kept  his  gaze  upon 
him.  He  still  held  the  child  as  a  shield,  so 
that  only  the  coolest  and  most  skillful 
marksman  would  dare  risk  the  shot,  and 
the  father  understood  the  danger  too  well 
to  attempt  it. 

" Don't  fire!"  pleaded  the  mother,  who 
divined  his  plan.  "  Maybe  we  can  coax 
him  to  come  down  without  injuring  the 
baby." 

"I  do  not  see  how  it  can  be  done," 
replied  the  captain,  who  was  beginning  to 


THE    LAST   HOPE.  41 

show  his  worriment  and  vexation  at  the 
continued  baffling  he  met  at  every  step. 

It  was  tried,  however,  by  offering  tempt 
ing  bits  of  food  from  the  fragments  which 
remained  in  the  dinner-baskets,  and  had  it 
not  been  for  the  fact  that  the  creature  was 
already  stuffed  to  repletion,  the  efforts 
might  have  succeeded ;  but  as  it  was,  not  the 
most  dainty  food  could  tempt  him  to  come 
down  from  his  perch,  and  surrender  the 
prize  whose  possession  afforded  him  royal 
sport. 

Minutes  were  like  hours,  and  it  seemed  as 
if  the  dreadful  tragedy  had  been  verging  to 
its  climax  for  ten  times  the  period  actually 
occupied. 

How  much  longer  could  the  monkey 
sustain  the  weight  of  the  infant?  When 
tired  of  holding  it,  what  would  he  do? 
Would  he  descend  with  it  in  his  grasp,  or 
would  he  let  it  fall  to  the  ground?  Might 
it  not  accidentally  slip  from  his  hold?  or 
would  he,  in  some  freak  of  devilish  malig 
nity,  skurry  away  among  the  branches, 
until  beyond  reach  of  the  friendly  bed  on 


42  LIMBER   LEW. 

the  ground,  and  then  let  it  go  to  instant 
death? 

These,  and  scores  of  other  questions, 
seethed  through  the  brain  of  the  father, 
until  he  was  so  bewildered  that  he  could 
scarcely  think. 

At  times  he  was  on  the  point  of  starting 
to  climb  the  tree,  feeling,  in  his  desperate 
rage,  as  if  he  could  corner  the  animal,  and 
compel  it  to  yield  its  prize.  Then  he  was 
fearful  of  exasperating  him,  dreading  lest 
he  should  seize  some  means  of  revenging 
himself  upon  him. 

Again,  he  had  momentary  convictions 
that  he  was  equal  to  the  task  of  bringing 
him  down  with  his  rifle,  without  danger  to 
the  child.  More  than  once  he  essayed  to 
raise  the  weapon,  but  the  fatal  tremulous- 
ness  still  clung  to  him,  and  he  shivered  to 
think  of  what  the  consequences  might  be. 

However,  so  long  as  the  monkey  main 
tained  his  present  perch,  no  immediate 
danger  impended.  Should  he  let  the  infant 
fall,  there  was  the  stuffed  tick  awaiting  to 
catch  it,  and  the  faithful  German  was  grasp- 


THE   LAST   HOPE.  43 

ing  one  corner,  and  looking  upward,  ready 
to  shift  the  bed,  the  instant  the  black- 
muzzled  imp  moved  "out  of  plumb." 

"He  cannot  stay  there  forever,"  re 
marked  Captain  Reynolds,  steping  back  to 
his  moaning  wife,  with  the  hope  of  com 
forting  her.  "It  must  be  a  heavy  load  to 
him,  and  will  soon  tire  him  out.  Have 
hope,  my  dear,  and  pray  to  God  to  protect 
our  darling!" 

"Do  I  not  do  so  every  hour  of  the  day?" 
replied  the  mother,  who  was  indeed  a 
woman  of  prayer.  "But  Ralph,  you  must 
not  think  of  firing,"  she  added. 

"  I  will  not  unless  I  am  sure  of  hitting  the 
animal." 

"Even  then  it  will  not  do.  The  fall  is 
too  great  even  for  the  bed  to  save  it.  More 
than  likely  it  would  strike  on  its  head,  and 
be  instantly  killed." 

"I  will  wait,  then,  until  some  way  seems 
to  open,  though  I  can  think  of  none." 

"Do  so.  I  have  faith  that  God  will  pro 
tect  our  angel.  Maybe  the  creature  will 
descend  in  a  few  minutes,  and  we  shall  get 


44  LIMBER   LEW. 

the  baby  unharmed.  The  poor  animal 
knows  no  better,"  she  added,  her  womanly 
sympathy  for  the  brute  showing  itself  even 
in  that  dreadful  moment. 

"Just  give  me  the  chance  to  teach  him, 
that's  all!"  muttered  the  father,  savagely, 
in  no  mood  to  feel  any  pity  for  the  author 
of  all  this  suffering. 

As  if  to  keep  the  anguish  of  the  parents 
at  the  highest  pitch,  the  monkey  began 
shifting  his  position  again.  He  first  stole 
carefully  along  the  limb,  until  he  was  close 
to  the  trunk,  when  he  paused,  and  champed 
his  black  jaws  at  the  group  below. 

Instantly  all  were  on  the  alert,  expecting 
that  the  infant  would  be  dropped,  or  its 
captor  descend  with  it. 

But  neither  expectation  was  gratified — 
the  animal  climbing  still  higher,  and  work 
ing  his  way,  with  the  same  care,  toward  the 
extremity  of  a  limb  upon  the  other  side. 

This  made  his  position  such  that  Jack  was 
compelled  hurriedly  to  drag  the  tickful 
of  feathers  some  distance. 

Young  as  was  the  baby,  it  began  acting, 


THE   LAST   HOPE.  45 

at  this  moment,  as  if  it  recognized  its  par 
ents  on  the  ground.  It  moved  its  arms  in 
the  vague,  uncertain  way  natural  to  such 
innocents,  and  broke  forth  in  a  cry  of  dis 
tress,  stirring  restlessly,  as  if  seeking  to  get 
away  from  its  hideous  jailer. 

None  but  a  mother  can  appreciate  the 
feelings  of  Mrs.  Reynolds  when  she  saw  the 
appeal  of  her  infant  and  could  not  answer 
it.  It  was  as  if  the  little  one  were  slowly 
sinking  in  the  sea,  just  beyond  her  reach. 
Her  husband,  in  mercy  to  her,  led  her 
away,  so  that  the  dreadful  sight  was  shut 
from  her  view. 

"Stay  with  her,"  he  said  to  Bridget. 
"Comfort  her  as  best  you  can." 

"It's  sorry  comfort  I  can  give  her  when 
my  own  heart  is  breaking,"  was  the  truth 
ful  reply  of  Bridget.  "We'll  be  dead 
entirely  if  ye  have  the  little  one  suspended 
between  heaven  and  earth  much  longer." 

Captain  Reynolds  would  have  remained 
to  cheer  his  wife,  but  for  the  fact  that  it  was 
unwise  to  leave  his  child  for  a  single  minute. 
He  hurriedly  stepped  back,  loaded  gun  in 


46  LIMBER   LEW. 

hand,  determined  that  something  should 
be  done  right  speedily,  though  he  could 
scarcely  guess  what  it  should  be.  • 

The  spell  of  horror,  which  held  the  child 
ren  paralyzed  at  first,  gradually  lifted,  and 
they  began  moving  about,  intently  watch 
ing  the  figures  in  the  tree,  and  indulging  in 
all  sorts  of  guesses  as  to  what  the  issue  was 
to  be,  and  explaining  a  hundred  different 
ways  by  which  the  threatened  catastrophe 
could  be  averted. 

Captain  Reynolds  was  standing  grim  and 
sullen,  his  heart  gnawed  by  the  conscious 
ness  that  he  was  held  at  bay  by  one  of  the 
most  insignificant  animals  of  creation.  His 
fingers  itched  to  raise  his  piece  and  let  day 
light  through  him;  and  more  than  once  he 
was  tempted  to  do  so,  and  thus  end  the 
terrible  suspense. 

He  was  in  this  torturing  state,  when  Lew 
Fenwick  cautiously  approached  and  said, 
in  a  low  voice : 

"I  think  I  can  fix  that  chap." 

"How?"  asked  the  father,  with  con 
siderable  partiality  toward  the  boy,  on 


THE   LAST   HOPE.  47 

account  of  the  active  sympathy  he  had 
shown  in  the  fate  of  the  baby  from  the 
beginning.  "It  won't  do  to  throw  stones 
at  him,  for  that  will  make  him  mad,  and 
likely  enough  lead  him  to  injure  the  child." 

"That  isn't  what  I  mean,  though  I 
believe  I  could  fetch  him  that  way.  But 
what  I  want  to  do,  is  to  climb  the  tree  and 
chase  him  up  in  a  corner,  and  make  him 
hand  over  the  baby." 

"I  wish  I  could  feel  as  certain  of  your 
success  as  you  do,  but  I  never  heard  of  such 
a  thing  as  cornering  a  monkey  in  a  tree.  I 
am  afraid  you  would  only  make  matters 
worse  by  such  a  course." 

"I  am  sure  I  would  not,"  continued 
Limber  Lew,  with  so  much  earnest  con 
fidence,  that  the  captain,  who  knew  him 
well,  was  impressed.  "I  have  been  think 
ing  this  thing  all  over,  and  I  see  how  it  can 
be  done." 

"But  you  haven't  explained  to  me." 

"I  can't  explain  as  well  as  I  can  show  you," 

said  the  lad,  afraid  that  if  his  scheme  were 

fully  understood,  his  friend  would  reject  it 


48  LIMBER   LEW. 

"Well,  go  ahead  then,  and  show  me," 
said  the  captain;  " there  can't  be  any  more 
suffering,  if  the  child  is  killed  before  our 
eyes." 

The  permission  thus  obtained,  Lew  Fen- 
wick  made  a  slight  bound  and  whoop, 
expressive  of  his  exultation,  and  ran 
rapidly  in  the  direction  of  the  tree.  With 
one  upward  leap,  he  grasped  the  lower  limb 
in  his  usual  fashion,  threw  himself  over  it, 
and  went  upward  with  the  same  nimbleness 
as  the  monkey  himself. 

Every  eye  was  fixed  upon  the  daring  lad. 
Even  Bridget  and  the  mother  came  forward 
and  gazed  at  him  with  a  yearning  look, 
which  showed  to  what  an  intense  degree 
their  feelings  were  wrought. 

All  had  the  conviction  that  the  crisis  had 
arrived,  and  that  a  very  few  minutes  more 
must  decide  the  fate  of  the  babe. 


BENEATH   THE   TREE.  49 


CHAPTER  IV. 

BENEATH  THE  TREE. 

AS  Lew  Fenwick,  or  " Limber  Lew,"  as 
he  was  more  generally  known,  began 
climbing  the  tree  in  which  the  mon 
key  was  perched,  with  the  infant  in  his  grasp, 
all  attention  for  the  time  was  centered  upon 
him,  for  no  one  knew  precisely  what  he 
meant  to  do. 

Gibbs,  the  teacher,  drew  forth  his  bull's- 
eye  watch,  and  looked  as  if  he  were  anxious 
to  call  school,  while  the  children  hurriedly 
stationed  themselves  here  and  there,  so  as 
to  get  the  best  view  possible. 

Jack,  the  German  hired  man,  slightly 
shifted  the  position  of  the  feather  tick,  to 
increase  the  probabilities  of  catching  the 
precious  charge,  in  case  it  should  fall. 

Captain  Reynolds  carefully  raised  the 
hammer  of  his  rifle,  for  he  saw  the  certainty 
of  the  monkey  being  forced  to  uncover 


50  LIMBER    LEW. 

when  closely  pressed  by  the  lad;  and  he 
was  resolved  to  fire  the  instant  he  detected 
a  prospect  of  gaining  anything  by  doing  so. 

The  creature  seemed  to  be  puzzled  and 
angered  at  the  new  turn  of  events,  but  he 
showed  no  disposition  to  yield.  The  babe 
had  ceased  its  crying,  so  there  was  nothing 
to  distract  the  attention  of  the  crowd,  all  of 
whom  riveted  their  eyes  first  upon  one 
party  and  then  upon  the  other,  as  the  dis 
tance  between  them  rapidly  diminshed. 

It  could  not  be  seen  that  Lew  carried  any 
weapon  with  him,  although  it  was  well 
known  that  he  was  the  owner  of  a  jack- 
knife,  with  a  blade  as  keen  as  a  razor. 

Several  of  the  urchins  below  expressed 
their  unalterable  conviction  that  he  meant 
to  " stick"  the  animal  with  this,  although 
their  belief  was  not  shared  by  the  older 
heads. 

With  his  dexterity,  it  required  but  a  few 
seconds  for  him  to  place  himself  in  close 
proximity  to  the  brute  above — the  monkey 
remaining  stationary,  while  his  jaws  moved 
rapidly,  and  his  black  eyes  blinked,  and 


BENEATH  THE  TREE.  51 

were  never  once  removed  from  the  cour 
ageous  youngster  who  was  trying  to  force 
him  into  a  " corner." 

Lew  finally  found  himself  astride  of  the 
same  limb  that  supported  the  monkey  and 
the  babe.  This  was  heavy  enough  to  bear 
a  much  greater  weight,  and  he  paused  a  few 
seconds  to  gather  all  the  points  in  the  situa 
tion. 

"If  I  crawl  out  there,  he  will  have  to  get 
upon  some  other  limb,  jump  over  me,  or 
stand  his  ground  and  fight.  There's  only 
one  limb  near  enough  for  him  to  catch,  and 
that's  over  his  head,  and  I'll  bend  this 
down  with  my  weight,  so  as  to  keep  that 
out  of  his  reach,  and  that  may  bring  him 
nigh  enough  to  the  one  below  him;  but  I'll 
try  it." 

Now  that  he  had  entered  fairly  upon  the 
work,  he  allowed  nothing  to  prevent  his 
pressing  matters.  His  purpose  being  to 
preserve  the  use  of  his  arms,  he  sat  astride 
the  limb,  and  began  hitching  forward,  by 
grasping  the  branch  in  front  of  him  with 
both  hands,  raising  himself  and  dropping 


52  LIMBER   LEW. 

down  each  time  a  few  inches  further  in 
advance, . 

Meanwhile  he  kept  his  eyes  fixed  upon  the 
monkey,  and  the  blinking  orbs  of  the  latter 
were  fixed  upon  him. 

"Be  careful;  not  too  fast!"  called  out 
Captain  Reynolds,  watching  the  slightest 
movement  of  the  lad. 

Lew  continued  hitching  forward  in  this 
jerkey  fashion,  until  he  was  almost  within 
striking  distance  of  the  brute,  when  he 
paused.  His  plan  of  proceedings  was 
settled  in  his  mind,  and  he  hesitated  not 
through  any  fear,  but  to  gather  himself,  as 
it  may  be  said,  for  the  final  effort. 

The  limb  was  bent  considerably,  and  he 
was  afraid  the  animal  would  attempt  to 
escape  him  by  leaping  to  another  branch— 
an  effort  that  he  meant  to  defeat  if  possible. 

The  instant  the  lad  stopped,  that  instant 
the  crouching  brute  rose  to  his  feet,  the 
infant  moaning  as  if  it  suffered  pain. 

Just  then  Captain  Reynolds  called  out 
something,  but  Lew  did  not  understand 
him.  To  his  surprise,  the  monkey,  after 


BENEATH   THE   TREE.  53 

assuming  something  like  an  upright  posi 
tion,  began  approaching  him. 

"By  George!  I  believe  he's  going  to  walk 
over  me, ' '  muttered  the  boy,  as  he  braced 
himself  for  the  meeting.  "  Mebbe  he  means 
to  pick  me  up  in  his  other  arm  and  walk  off 
with  us  both.  Hello!" 

Suddenly  the  creature  sprang  aloft, 
caught  a  limb  that  any  one  would  have 
supposed  was  beyond  his  reach,  and  actually 
attempted  to  swing  over  the  head  of  the 
youngster,  to  a  landing  on  the  same  branch, 
nearer  the  tree 

The  quick-witted  Lew  threw  up  both 
hands  and  seized  the  long  white  dress  of  the 
baby,  and  gave  it  such  an  unexpected  pull, 
that  it  was  drawn  from  the  grasp  of  the 
brute  before  he  could  prevent  it. 

This  unexpected  collision,  as  it  may  be 
called,  upset  the  equilibrium  of  boy,  mon 
key,  and  baby.  The  second  made  a  clutch 
at  the  last,  tore  a  shred  from  its  dress,  and 
dropped,  like  a  shot,  through  the  leaves, 
striking  upon  the  feather  bed.  He  had 
scarcely  touched  it  when  he  leaped  up  with 


54  LIMBER   LEW. 

a  spasmodic  chattering;  and  doubtless 
aware  that  he  was  in  a  hostile  country,  ran 
off,  with  great  speed,  into  the  woods,  and 
was  not  seen  again. 

Captain  Reynolds  had  plenty  of  oppor 
tunity  to  shoot  him,  but  such  a  proceeding 
would  not  have  been  satisfactory,  and  his 
interest  was  absorbed  by  the  more  import 
ant  actors  in  the  drama. 

In  a  second  he  saw  what  was  coming  and 
that  both  the  lad  and  infant  were  certain  to 
fall.  He  dropped  his  gun  and  dashed  for 
ward  to  intercept  their  descent. 

No  doubt  Limber  Lew  could  have  saved 
himself  by  calling  into  play  his  remarkable 
dexterity,  but  he  did  not  believe  his  own 
life  was  in  danger,  while  that  of  his  tender 
charge  was.  He  therefore  held  fast,  and 
the  two  came  down  together. 

All  would  have  gone  well,  but  for  the 
intervention  of  the  very  lowest  limb  of  the 
tree.  This  was  violently  struck  by  the  leg 
of  Lew,  who  was  knocked  sideways,  and  an 
involuntary,  spasmodic  clutching  of  his 
hands  caused  the  infant  to  fall  from  his  grasp. 


BENEATH   THE   TREE.  55 

It  fell,  however,  exactly  into  the  arms  of 
its  father,  slightly  jarred,  not  a  bit  hurt,  but 
considerably  upset  by  its  last  half -hour's 
experience. 

The  captain  had  scarcely  felt  its  precious 
weight  when  the  mother  rushed  forward, 
and  flinging  her  arms  about  it,  drew  it  to 
her  breast,  kissing  and  embracing  it,  and 
crying  for  joy. 

"Oh,  my  darling!  my  darling!  you  have 
come  back  to  me!  Thank  God! — thank 
God  for  His  mercy !  And  you  are  alive,  and 
not  hurt !  How  can  I  thank  heaven  for  all 
this?" 

Bridget  was  scarcely  less  frantic,  and  she 
yearned  to  get  the  little  one  in  her  brawny 
arms,  the  two  walking  away  together,  and 
oblivious  of  everything  else  except  the 
blessed  fact  that  the  precious  baby  had 
come  back  from  death  into  life. 

But  Captain  Reynolds'  anxiety,  now  that 
his  child  was  safe,  was  instantly  transferred 
to  Lew  Fenwick,  who  had  been  the  least 
fortunate  of  the  three. 

Burdened  by  the  weight  of  the  child,  and 


56  LIMBER   LEW. 

hit  by  the  limb,  as  already  shown,  he  nar 
rowly  escaped  fatal  injury.  Although  he 
fell  upon  the  bed  spread  out  to  catch  him, 
yet  he  struck  sideways,  and  almost  upon 
his  head  and  shoulders,  and  with  such  force 
that  his  horror-struck  companions  saw  that, 
instead  of  bounding  to  his  feet,  as  they  all 
expected  him  to  do,  he  lay  still. 

The  captain  and  his  servant  immediately 
stooped  over  him,  and  raised  his  head,  the 
former  fearing  his  neck  was  fractured. 

"  Bring  water — quick !"  he  called  address 
ing  the  staring  children  who  were  grouped 
about  him  "  Stand  back,  and  give  him 
air!" 

Several  boys  ran  into  the  school  entry, 
where  at  all  times  stood  the  pail  upon  a 
bench,  with  a  cup  beside  it,  and  with  always 
a  goodly  supply  of  water  on  hand. 

Mr.  Gibbs  asserted  his  authority,  and  the 
boys  and  girls  were  forced  back  a  few  paces, 
where  they  gazed,  scared  by  the  white  face 
and  half-closed  eyes  of  their  playmate,  as 
his  head  rested  upon  the  knee  of  the  cap 
tain,  who  was  fanning  him  with  his  hat. 


BENEATH   THE   TREE.      .  57 

The  next  minute  the  boys  were  on  hand 
with  the  pail  of  water,  and  a  cupful  was 
dashed  in  his  face.  It  was  not  very  cold, 
and  the  captain  repeated  the  action.  But 
not  the  slightest  perceptible  result  was  seen 
— the  countenance  remaining  as  immova 
ble  as  that  of  a  marble  statue. 

"Heisdeadl" 

And  as  the  awful,  whispered  words  passed 
back  and  forth  among  the  terrified  children, 
they  shrank  back  from  the  presence  of  the 
body,  as  if  they  believed  that  death  had 
given  it  new  and  dreadful  power. 

Captain  Reynolds  himself  thought  life 
was  extinct,  although  he  continued  bathing 
the  temples  and  face,  and  ordered  several 
of  the  boys  to  take  the  pail  to  the  spring, 
and  bring  fresh  and  cold  water. 

Two  youngsters  had  scarcely  departed  to 
obey  the  order,  when  little  barefooted  Billy 
Muggins  came  forward,  timidly,  and  said: 

"I  think  I  know  what'll  fetch 
Lew." 

" What  is  it?" 

"Tickle  his  nose.     He  hates  that  awfully, 


58  LIMBER   LEW. 

and  it  always  makes  him  jump.  I  often 
doit  at  school — " 

" Silence!"  announced  the  teacher,  rais 
ing  his  cane  threateningly.  "Will  you 
never  learn  manners  and  common  sense? 
Go  into  the  school-room,  this  instant,  and 
stay  there!  Do  you  hear  sir?" 

Poor,  abashed  Billy  started  to  obey, 
when  the  captain  raised  his  hand. 

"Wait  a  minute,  Mr.  Gibbs.  Such  re 
sorts  as  the  one  he  speaks  of  are  sometimes 
effectual.  If  he  is  peculiarly  sensitive  to 
such  irritation,  as  nearly  every  one  is,  it  is 
probable  that  is  the  best  plan.  Try  it, 
bub,  if  you  want  to." 

Billy  Huggins,  when  he  stepped  forward 
in  the  first  place,  was  armed  and  equipped, 
having  a  piece  of  long  grass,  with  a  tufted 
head,  in  his  hand.  With  an  awed  smile, 
looking  strange  on  the  face  of  one  so  young, 
he  moved  toward  his  playmate.  There 
was  just  enough  lingering  suspicion  that  he 
was  about  to  tickle  the  nose  of  a  dead  boy 
to  make  him  feel  "queer"  all  over. 

Thrusting  out   the   spear  of  grass,   he 


BENEATH   THE   TREE.  59 

abruptly  drew  it  back  before  it  reached  the 
nostrils  of  the  lad,  and  looked  up  at  Captain 
Reynolds. 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  the  latter, 
in  surprise. 

"Why,  Lew  hates  to  have  his  nose  tickled 
so  bad,  that  he  told  me,  if  I  ever  done  it 
ag'in,  he'd  punch  me;  and  I'm  afeard  he'll 
do  it  now." 

Mirth  and  solemnity  are  next  door  to  each 
other,  and  the  words  of  the  urchin  were  so 
unexpected,  that  Captain  Reynolds, 
although  well  convinced  that  the  brave  boy 
was  past  human  help,  laughed  outright. 

"Can't  you  run  away  when  he  wakes 
up?"  he  asked,  compressing  his  features. 

Billy  shook  his  head. 

"Golly,  that  won't  do!  Lew  can  run 
faster  than  any  three  boys  in  the  country. " 

"All  right.  I  will  promise  not  to  let  him 
hurt  you.  Go  ahead." 

Under  this  guarantee,  Billy  knelt  down 
upon  one  knee,  and  began  slowly  rubbing 
the  feathery  head  against  the  sensitive 
nostrils  of  the  boy. 


60  LIMBER   LEW. 

The  latter  did  not  stir  or  give  the  least 
sign  of  life;  but  every  lad  and  girl  who  saw 
the  experiment,  scratched  his  and  her 
nose,  and  even  the  pedagogue  snuffed. 

Thus  closely  are  we  drawn  by  sympathy 
to  one  another ! 

" That's  queer!"  said  Billy,  getting  down 
close  to  his  work,  and  not  understanding 
it  all.  "I  never  knowed  him  to  do  that 
before.  Wonder  if  he  hain't  been  playing 
'possum  all  the  time?  It's  mighty  mean 
in  him  if  he  has!" 

"Never  mind  what  he  did  before  this— 
attend  to  your  business." 

" That's  what  I'm  doing,"  growled  Billy, 
as  he  bent  to  his  work  again. 

The  irritating  spear  of  grass  was  drawn 
across  the  nostrils  once  or  twice,  when, 
without  the  least  warning,  the  eyes  of  Lew 
Fenwick  suddenly  opened  wide,  and  the 
next  instant  he  made  a  leap,  and  caught 
the  startled  Billy  Huggins  by  the 
hair. 

"What  did  I  tell  you  about  tickling  my 
nose?  I'll  show  you!" 


BENEATH   THE    TREE.  61 

With  which  he  gave  his  yellow  hair  a 
yank  that  caused  him  to  yell : 

" Murder!  murder!  Take  him  off!  I  didn't 
know  you  was  going  to  wake  up  that 
suddint,  and  Captain  Reynolds  wanted  me 
to  tickle  your  nose,  or  I  wouldn't  have  done 
it.  He's  to  blame,  and  why  don't  you  pull 
/lishair?" 

Lew,  however,  released  his  playmate 
without  hurting  him  seriously,  and  turned 
about  to  inquire  about  the  baby — the 
whole  thing  taking  place  before  either 
Captain  Reynolds  or  the  teacher  himself 
could  interfere  to  check  the  nimble-footed 
youngster. 

Mrs.  Reynolds,  having  assured  herself 
that  her  child  was  unharmed,  had  regained 
her  composure,  and  came  forward  to  speak 
to  the  brave  boy,  who,  under  heaven,  was 
its  savior.  She  came  up  just  as  he  was 
inquiring  for  the  little  one. 

The  mother  thanked  him  from  the  very 
depths  of  her  heart.  She  knew  him  well 
and  was  an  occasional  visitor  at  the  house 
of  his  father,  Judge  Fenwick,  although  not 


62  LIMBER  LEW. 

so  frequently  since  the  death  of  the  lad's 
mother,  and  the  second  marriage  of  the 
judge. 

Lew  blushed,  and  looked  as  sheepish  as  a 
goodly-sized  boy  always  does  when  some 
body  looks  down  in  his  face  and  compli 
ments  him  extravagantly. 

As  he  stood  thus  with  his  eyes  downcast 
the  lady  saw  the  striking  resemblance  he 
bore  to  his  mother,  now  dead  and  gone,  as 
she  appeared  twenty  years  before,  when 
she  was  the  beautiful  Inez  Livermore — 
the  petted  favorite  of  the  school. 

She  saw  ail  this,  and  she  sighed;  for  she 
knew  that  the  weak,  fashionable  woman, 
who  was  now  the  wife  of  Judge  Fenwick, 
had  not  a  single  qualification  to  hold  such 
a  sacred  position. 

" Would  that  he  might  become  a  son  to 
us!" 

She  murmured  the  prayer  so  softly  that 
she  had  no  idea  that  any  one  heard  her; 
but  the  lad  himself  did,  and  gazed  into  her 
face,  with  a  strange,  wondering  expression. 


A  TEACHER  OF  THE  OLDEN  TIME.        63 


CHAPTER  V. 

A  TEACHER  OF  THE  OLDEN  TIME. 

ABIJAH  Gibbs  was  a  relic  of  the  old- 
time  pedagogues,  who  perhaps  for 
tunately  for  the  rising  generation, 
are  rapidly  drifting  away. 

Like  many  an  old  physician  of  the  present 
day,  he  was  utterly  impatient  of  any  new 
discovery  or  improvement  in  his  chosen 
profession.  He  taught  school  precisely 
after  the  manner  he  taught  twenty-five 
years  before,  and  his  "programme  of  exer 
cises"  had  scarcely  varied  an  iota  in  all  that 
time. 

He  was  harsh,  given  to  loud  speaking, 
and  addicted  to  emphasizing  many  of  his 
commands  with  a  blow  of  the  switch  upon 
some  offending  youngster. 

He  was  tall  and  slim,  with  iron-gray  hair 
and  with  spectacles,  and  he  had  a  way  of 
throwing  his  head  up  and  back,  and  looking, 


64  LIMBER  LEW. 

under  his  glasses,  down  into  the  face  of 
whomsoever  was  addressing  him. 

During  a  part  of  the  day  he  sat  in  his 
high  chair,  behind  his  lofty  desk,  engaged 
in  " setting  copies,"  or  hearing  the  little 
ones  read  as  they  came  up  in  turn. 

At  other  times  he  would  shift  his  atten 
uated  legs  around  to  the  side  of  his  support, 
and  then  pace  slowly  around  the  room, 
whip  in  hand,  ready  to  whack  any  youngster 
who  chanced  to  transgress  any  of  his  rules; 
and  a  great  many  who  went  to  school  in  the 
old  whitewashed  stone  building,  believed 
to  their  dying  day  that  he  could  see  around 
a  corner,  and  was  more  able  to  penetrate 
their  thoughts  than  is  the  modern  mind 
reader  now. 

There  was  a  row  of  desks  against  the  wall, 
all  the  way  around  the  room,  with  the 
exception  of  the  opening  leading  into  the 
entry,  and  at  the  end  of  the  apartment, 
where  the  teacher's  own  desk  was  perched. 

Here  was  a  low  bench,  generally  occupied 
by  from  one  to  half  a  dozen  pupils  who 
needed  extra  spurring  in  their  lessons. 


A  TEACHER  OF   THE   OLDEN  TIME.       65 

As  the  children  sat  at  these  desks,  it  will 
be  seen  they  faced  the  wall,  with  their 
backs  toward  the  instructor,  who  thus  had 
them  "just  where  he  wanted  them." 

In  the  centre  of  the  room  stood  the  huge 
tenplate  stove,  around  which  were  four  low 
benches,  placed  at  right  angles  to  and  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  most  youthful 
children. 

The  teacher's  tramping-ground  was  thus 
between  two  rows  of  his  pupils,  and  he  had 
just  sufficient  space  to  swing  his  arm  "com 
fortably,"  as  he  walked  back  and  forth. 
He  was  ingenious  in  his  different  methods 
of  punishment.  Often  he  would  shout  for 
some  offending  youngster — very  probably 
a  girl — to  come  to  him — when,  the  instant 
she  arrived,  he  would  force  her  head  down 
ward,  so  that  her  back  was  curved  like  a 
bow,  and  "catch"  the  head,  as  in  the  loop 
of  a  snare,  beneath  the  edge  of  his  desk,  in 
which  painful  position  he  would  compel  the 
crying  child  to  stand  and  study  for  the 
greater  part  of  an  hour. 

Or  he  would  make  a  boy  hold  out  the 


66  LIMBER  LEW. 

Bible  at  arm's  length.  Many  a  youngster, 
the  first  time  he  was  compelled  to  do  this, 
would  enter  upon  it  enthusiastically,  ambi 
tious  to  show  to  the  admiring  school  the 
" muscle"  he  had  at  command;  but  it  was 
not  long  before  this  ambition  wilted  because 
of  the  rebellion  of  the  same  muscles  against 
such  torture.  Then,  when  he  began  to 
crook  his  elbow,  or  to  equalize  matters,  by 
leaning  his  body  far  over  in  the  opposite 
direction,  the  teacher  switched  his  fingers, 
and  ordered  him  to  hold  it  straight. 

Thus  more  than  one  lad  was  taught  to 
look  upon  the  Book  of  Books,  "the  dearest 
friend  man  ever  knew,"  not  with  affec 
tionate  reverence,  but  with  an  aversion  of 
which  he  was  never  able  entirely  to  free  his 
mind  in  after  life. 

Again,  when  a  child  showed  a  weakness 
in  the  way  of  whispering,  a  favorite  prac 
tice  of  the  pedagogue  was  to  insert  a  block 
of  wood  between  the  teeth,  holding  the  jaws 
distended  to  their  widest  extent  for  minutes 
at  a  time,  until,  when  he  was  released,  he 
felt  and  rubbed  his  aching  jaws  and  ears, 


A  TEACHER  OF  THE    OLDEN  TIME.        67 

to  satisfy  himself  that  everything  was  not 
knocked  permanently  out  of  plumb.  A 
boy  who  has  been  through  this  experience 
is  sure  to  retain  a  lively  recollection  of  it, 
after  having  grown  to  manhood.  We  can 
certify  to  that. 

Then  he  varied  his  barbarities  by  twisting 
a  boy's  ear,  or  almost  yanking  it  off,  crack 
ing  his  knuckles  when  he  didn't  hold  his  pen 
right,  or  violently  bumping  two  or  three 
lads'  heads  together  when  the  owners  of 
them  were  holding  a  mysterious  conference 
about  some  water-melon  patch,  a  newly- 
discovered  chestnut  tree,  or  the  respective 
claims  to  beauty  of  some  young  rustic 
sweet-hearts. 

Thus  it  was  that  long  after  a  child  was 
punished  the  pain  and  suffering  remained 
by  him,  and  he  came  to  look  upon  his  teach 
er  with  aversion  and  hate,  instead  of  the 
respect  and  affection  that  should  always 
exist  between  instructor  and  instructed. 

There  were  fully  a  dozen  boys — among 
whom  was  Lew  Fenwick — who  had  solemnly 
vowed  that,  if  they  were  spared  to  reach 


68  LIMBER  LEW. 

manhood,  they  would  get  even  with  the 
abominated  teacher  by  giving  him  a  thor 
ough  whipping. 

There  is  nothing  to  be  wondered  at  in 
such  a  determination.  Had  the  teacher 
first  assured  himself  that  a  boy  really 
deserved  punishment,  and  then  adminis 
tered  it  firmly,  in  a  sensible  way,  that  child 
would  have  esteemed  him  all  the  more;  but 
torture  awakens  only  hatred. 

Mr.  Gibbs,  like  every  old  teacher — and 
indeed  nearly  every  old  man — had  his  pet 
words  and  expressions.  He  "  jogged  the 
memory"  of  his  pupils  fully  twenty  times 
every  day,  and  referred  to  their  "  tomfool 
ery"  still  more  frequently,  besides  repeat 
ing  other  phases  without  number. 

Scarcely  had  Captain  Reynolds  and  his 
family  departed,  with  Jack  trudging  off 
homeward,  with  his  feather  bed  upon  his 
back,  when  the  pedagogue  stalked  into  the 
building  in  his  deliberate  manner,  placed 
his  hat  on  his  desk,  and  rapped  upon  the 
window-pane,  and  the  children  swarmed 
into  the  room,  each  hurrying  to  his  or  her 


A  TEACHER  OF  THE  OLDEN  TIME.        69 

position,  with  very  little  regard  to  order  or 
discipline. 

When  all  were  seated,  and  something  like 
a  hush  had  fallen  upon  the  school,  the 
teacher  was  seen  to  pull  his  bull's-eye  watch 
and  scowl  at  it.  Then  he  rapped  violently 
upon  the  desk  with  his  ferule,  and  called  out : 

"There's  been  so  much  tomfoolery  that 
we've  lost  an  hour;  we  shall  therefore  keep 
school  an  hour  later.  You'll  then  have 
plenty  time  to  get  home  before  dark  and  do 
your  chores.  All  to  work  now,  and  the 
first  one  I  see  looking  off  the  book  I'll  jog 
his  memory." 

And  with  switch  in  hand  he  began  pacing 
about  the  room,  as  if  in  quest  of  some 
youngster  who  dared  disobey  his  command. 

But  every  eye  was  intent  on  the  book, 
although  a  shock  of  general  dismay  went 
through  the  hearts  of  all  at  this  dreadful 
announcement.  They  all  believed  that  he 
did  it  out  of  malice,  always  glad  to  punish 
himself  for  the  sake  of  making  them  suffer. 

But  there  was  no  helping  it,  and  they 
went  to  their  tasks  like  beasts  of  burden, 


70  LIMBER  LEW. 

who  had  no  choice,  the  first  thing  in  order 
being  a  general  study  of  the  reading  lesson. 

While  they  were  thus  employed,  the 
teacher,  as  a  rule  occupied  himself  with 
setting  copies.  He  never  used  anything 
but  a  quill  pen,  and  its  scratch,  scratch,  as 
it  slid  rapidly  over  the  paper,  had  been 
heard  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  with  no 
variation  in  its  peculiarity.  His  atten 
uated  legs,  as  they  sprawled  out  like  the 
arms  of  a  pair  of  dividers,  were  about  all 
that  was  visible  to  the  urchins  who  were 
sitting  around  the  stove.  Those  who  were 
further  away  had  a  glimpse  of  the  iron-gray 
hair  and  bald  spot  on  the  top  of  the  head; 
but  if  any  daring  youngster  ventured  on  a 
little  sly  mischief,  one  of  those  eyes  could 
be  seen  glowering  over  the  horizon  of  the 
desk,  like  the  sun  coming  up  beyond  the 
ocean. 

"Aha-a-a!  at  your  tomfoolery  again! 
Just  step  this  way  and  I'll  jog  your  memory 
for  you!" 

As  the  abashed  youngster  slunk  forward, 
the  pedagogue  placed  his  quill  between  his 


A  TEACHER  OF  THE  OLDEN  TIME.    71 

teeth,  as  a  pirate,  in  a  yellow-covered  novel, 
does  with  his  knife,  and  awaited  him  with 
ferule  in  hand.  Two  or  three  resounding 
whacks  were  quickly  delivered,  and  the 
teacher  motioned  him  to  his  seat. 

"There!  if  I  see  any  more  of  your  tom 
foolery  I'll  give  you  a  double  dose!" 

Old  Gibbs  had  a  mortal  hatred  of  Afri 
cans.  During  the  summer,  there  were 
usually  one  or  two  bound  girls,  in  long 
shoes  and  blue  gingham  aprons,  who  came 
with  their  primers,  summer  after  summer, 
and  never  learned  their  alphabet,  and  in 
winter  time  the  other  sex  was  represented 
in  about  the  same  proportion,  making  a 
corresponding  progress  in  book  lore. 

We  must  not  be  understood  as  saying 
that  this  backwardness  was  due  entirely  to 
the  dullness  of  the  African  pupils,  but 
mainly  to  the  neglect  of  the  teacher,  or  the 
indifference  of  those  who  sent  them  to 
school.  These  latter  folks  sent  them  tardily 
and  unfrequently,  in  compliance  with  an 
agreement  made  with  the  parents  of  the 
unfortunates,  and  there  were  white  children 


72  LIMBER   LEW. 

who  were  too  often  slighted  in  the  same 
manner.  The  instructor  gave  them  very 
little  attention,  except  in  the  way  of  punish 
ment,  and  it  was  small  wonder  that  they 
made  no  advancement  at  all. 

On  one  occasion,  when  Mr.  Gibbs  was 
hearing  the  lesson  of  one  of  these  colored 
girls,  he  insisted  upon  her  holding  her 
thumbed  primer,  without  supporting  it  with 
her  hands.  For  her  inability  to  do  this 
impossible  thing,  he  whipped  her  cruelly, 
and  was  guilty  of  equally  absurd  and  shame 
ful  things,  little  suspecting  that  some  of  his 
victims  would  remember  them  against  him 
for  long  years  afterward. 

The  one  great  oasis  in  each  morning  and 
afternoon  session  was  recess — lasting  in 
both  cases  about  fifteen  minutes.  There 
were  nearly  always  a  number  who  were  kept 
in,  for  some  impropriety  of  deportment; 
but  on  the  afternoon  of  which  we  are  speak 
ing,  for  a  wonder  the  whole  school  were 
turned  loose  for  a  frolic  and  romp. 

Pell-mell  they  rushed  out  of  the  entry, 
tumbling  over  one  another,  and  leaping  into 


A  TEACHER  OF  THE  OLDEN  TIME.         73 

the  very  height  of  enjoyment,  like  children 
who  were  determined  to  concentrate  all  the 
fun  possible  in  the  short  space  at  their  dis 
posal. 

The  boys  ran  shouting  over  the  fence, 
and  down  the  path  for  a  couple  of  hundred 
yards,  where  was  the  spring,  and  a  dam, 
which  they  had  themselves  erected.  This 
backed  the  water  of  the  brook  so  effectually, 
that  a  stream  a  dozen  feet  in  width  at  the 
broadest  part,  and  some  three  or  four  feet 
in  depth,  was  produced,  and  a  capital  place 
for  swimming  purposes  furnished.  They 
were  allowed  to  take  a  bath  in  it  at  noon, 
but  at  no  other  time,  it  being  understood 
that  if  any  one  ventured  in  it  before  or  after 
school,  or  during  recess,  he  was  liable  to  the 
severest  penalty,  if  the  fact  became  known 
to  his  teacher,  and  somehow  or  other  he 
always  seemed  to  find  it  out. 

On  the  present  occasion,  no  one  had  any 
thought  of  transgression,  but  several  of  the 
lads  began  a  sport  which  was  dangerous 
from  the  cause  mentioned.  This  consisted 
in  leaping  across  the  stream,  each  one 


74  LIMBER   LEW. 

striving  to  outdo  the  others.  If  by  any 
mishap  one  of  the  number  should  happen 
to  get  his  feet  or  clothing  wet,  the  teacher 
would  be  quick  to  seize  the  opportunity  to 
punish  him  therefor. 

There  were  portions  of  the  stream  where 
all  the  boys  could  leap  across,  but  Limber 
Lew  was  the  only  one  who  could  clear  it  at 
the  widest  part.  This  he  did  by  running  a 
short  distance,  performing  the  exploit  with 
an  ease  that  would  have  been  praised  by  an 
athlete  himself. 

Of  course  there  was  a  great  deal  of  talk 
over  what  had  happened  at  noon,  and  quite 
a  number  insisted  upon  Lew  telling  them 
how  he  felt  at  the  time  he  was  unconscious 
and  didn't  feel  anything,  and  a  number 
were  free  in  their  praise  of  his  exploit. 

The  boys  had  only  gotten  fairly  at  work, 
or  rather  at  play,  when  a  man  came  out  of 
the  woods  and  stood  on  the  shore,  looking 
at  them.  He  was  dressed  in  a  very  ordi 
nary  manner,  wore  a  slouch  hat,  an  immense 
coal-black  moustache,  and  held  a  common 
riding-whip  in  his  hand.  He  was  a  stranger 


A  TEACHER  OF  THE  OLDEN  TIME.         75 

and  no  one  remembered  ever  having  seen 
him  before. 

The  minute  the  youngsters  became  aware 
that  some  one  was  viewing  them,  they  tried 
harder  than  ever  to  outdo  themselves. 
Lew  Fenwick  showed  this  natural  and 
pardonable  weakness,  and  selecting  the 
broadest  part  of  the  stream,  he  made  a 
short,  vigorous  run,  and  turning  a  somer 
sault  in  the  air,  landed  cleverly  upon  his 
feet  upon  the  sod  on  the  other  side. 

"By  Jove,  that  was  well  done!"  ex 
claimed  the  stranger.  "Can  you  do  it 
again?" 

"I  guess  so,"  replied  Lew,  with  a  laugh, 
and  flushing  with  delight  at  the  words. 

Whereupon  he  repeated  the  exploit  with 
the  same  dexterity  as  before. 

"I'd  like  to  hire  you  to  go  with  me," 
said  the  man,  approaching  and  patting  his 
head.  "You  were  cut  out  for  a  circus  per 
former." 

" Do  you  belong  to  a  circus?"  asked  Lew, 
as  he  and  the  open-mouthed,  wondering 
boys,  gathered  around  him. 


76  LIMBER   LEW. 

"Yes;  I've  been  connected  with  Simp 
son's  Circus  and  Menagerie  for  years,  and 
we  are  always  glad  to  pick  up  such  little 
geniuses  as  you.  In  a  short  time  you  could 
make  a  good  big  salary,  and  live  like  a 
fighting-cock.  Can't  you  go  with  me?" 

"I  am  afraid  not,"  replied  Lew,  with  a 
great  sigh.  "I  don't  think  father  would 
let  me." 

"Who  is  your  father?" 

"Judge  Fen  wick.  He  lives  half-way 
between  here  and  Birmingham,  where  your 


circus  is.' 


The  man  was  silent,  for  somehow  or 
other  it  did  not  seem  that  there  was  much 
prospect  of  persuading  a  judge  to  allow  his 
boy  to  travel  with  a  circus. 

"You'd  like  to  go  with  us,  wouldn't  you, 
sonny?" 

"You  bet  I  would!" 

"Well,  if  you  can  get  the  governor  to  let 
you  off,  come  to  our  place  and  inquire  for 
George  Girton,  and  I'll  give  you  a  job. ' 

"Won't  you  take  me?"  asked  Billy 
Huggins. 


A  TEACHER  OF  THE  OLDEN  TIME.          77 

"What  can  you  do?"  queried  the  man, 
with  a  smile,  turning  toward  him. 

"Well,  I'm  kind  o'  handy,  and  I  can 
learn  to  turn  somersaults  as  well  as  Lew. 
He  thinks  he's  very  smart,  but  I  never  half 
tried." 

"Can  you  throw  a  handspring  across  that 
brook,  just  as  he  did?" 

Billy  looked  at  the  stream  as  if  he  had 
never  seen  it  before.  He  thought  possibly 
the  thing  might  be  done,  but  it  always 
made  him  shiver  to  look  at  Lew  when  he 
made  the  leap.  The  picture  of  him,  when 
directly  over  the  centre  of  the  water,  his 
head  down  and  his  feet  pointing  to  the  sky, 
was  a  fearful  one,  and  he  thought  how  lucky 
Lew  was  that  he  didn't  drop  suddenly, 
head  first,  into  the  water,  and  join  his  head 
to  his  heels  in  the  bottom,  forgetting,  or 
rather  not  knowing,  that  his  playmate 
could  not  do  so  without  violating  a  funda 
mental  law  of  mechanics. 

"I'd  rather  practice  a  little  afore  I  tried 
that,"  replied  Billy,  backing  away  from 
the  water. 


78  LIMBER   LEW. 

"I'm  afraid  you  would  have  to  practice 
too  long,  that's  the  trouble, "  said  the  circus 
man,  who,  of  course,  could  read  the  boy's 
capacities  in  the  way  of  gymnastics  at  a 
glance.  "  Your  feet  are  rather  too  big,  and 
you're  too  fat  and  soggy.  Your  mouth  is 
rather  too  broad,  and  you  keep  it  too  wide 
open.  I  judge  you're  better  at  placing 
yourself  outside  of  buckwheat-cakes  and 
rice-pudding!" 

There  was  a  general  snicker  at  this 
quizzing  of  Billy,  who  didn't  seem  to  mind 
it,  for  he  had  a  weakness  in  the  way  of  rice- 
pudding,  and  what  boy  has  not?  During 
the  cold  season,  he  was  a  source  of  per 
petual  wonder  to  the  folks  at  home,  who 
could  not  understand  how  such  a  short  boy 
could  dispose  of  so  many  buckwheat-cakes, 
smothered  in  syrup  and  butter. 

"No,  boys,  the  only  chap  that  I  can 
make  use  of  is  Limber  Lew,  as  I  hear  you 
call  huri.  I  should  like  to  have  him  very 
much;  and  if  he's  a-mind  to  join  our  circus, 
it  won't  be  many  years  before  he'll  make  his 
fortune.  But  just  now  I'm  looking  for  a 


A  TEACHER  OF  THE  OLDEN  TIME.         79 

runaway  monkey.    Have  any  of  you  seen 
one?" 


80  LIMBER  LEW. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

CURING  TOMFOOLERY. 

AT  mention  of  the  runaway  monkey,  the 
youngsters  knew  the  stranger  re 
ferred  to  the  creature  that  had 
created  such  a  rumpus  on  the  play-ground, 
at  noon. 

Of  course,  they  all  shouted  that  they  had 
seen  the  animal  inquired  for,  and  knew  all 
about  him;  and  then  each  began  to  tell  the 
story  in  so  helter-skelter  a  fashion  that  the 
man  was  forced  to  check  them,  and  secure 
his  information  by  questioning  one  or  two 
of  the  boys. 

When,  at  last,  the  whole  truth  was  under 
stood,  he  looked  at  Limber  Lew,  who  was 
standing  a  little  apart  from  the  rest,  and 
said: 

"And  you're  the  chap  that  took  the  baby 
away  from  the  monkey,  are  you?" 


CURING   TOMFOOLERY.  81 

"Well,  I  helped  to  do  it,  I  s'pose — but  it 
wasn't  very  hard  work." 

"Not  for  you,  of  course:  but  it  would 
have  been  impossible  for  any  one  else. 
What  a  pity,"  added  the  showman,  with  a 
great  sigh,  "that  you  should  be  wasting 
your  time  in  going  to  school,  instead  of 
learning  to  perform  on  the  trapeze  or  bar, 
or  riding  the  ponies  in  the  ring!  We  have 
our  circus  open  to-night,  and  here's  a 
ticket  for  a  reserved  seat.  Bring  that  with 
you,"  he  added,  as  he  handed  it  to  Lew, 
"and  you'll  get  the  best  kind  of  a  view  to 
the  show.  You  other  youngsters  will  come 
any  way,  so  there  isn't  any  need  of  giving 
you  any. " 

And  with  this  rather  original  piece  of 
logic,  Mr.  Girton  turned  about  and  started 
into  the  woods,  whistling  for  his  monkey, 
Pietro,  and  determined  to  give  him  a  good 
trouncing,  when  he  should  catch  him,  not 
only  for  his  running  away,  but  for  his  per 
formance  with  the  baby. 

Left  to  themselves,  the  boys  stood  talk 
ing,  in  awed  voices,  about  the  wonderful 


82  LIMBER  LEW. 

apparition  that  had  just  come  and  gone. 
In  their  eyes,  he  was  a  greater  man  than 
General  Washington  or  Abraham  Lincoln. 

Spangles  and  sawdust!  What  else,  in 
the  wide  world,  has  half  the  attraction  for 
childhood  that  they  have? 

"By  golly,  Lew,  if  I's  you  I'd  go  with 
him!  "  said  Billy  Huggins,  with  an  indraw- 
ing  of  the  breath,  as  if  he  tasted  something 
superfine  in  the  air.  "You  can  wear  them 
trowsis  made  out  of  gold  stars,  and  ride  on 
the  hosses,  and  see  the  show  every  day  for 
nothing;  and  then,  when  you  hain't  noth 
ing  to  do,  you  can  sit  down  and  look  at  the 
bears,  and  lions,  and  tigers,  and  elefunts, 
and  hippomuses,  and  graffys,  and  eagles, 
and  boy-constrictors,  and  whole  lots  of 
other  things !  Blame  it  all,  why  don't  you 
go?"  demanded  the  lad,  breaking  off 
abruptly,  overcome  by  the  gorgeousness  of 
his  own  picture. 

"I  should  like  to  know  how  I  can  go, 
when  father  won't  let  me?"  asked  Lew, 
rather  impatiently,  for  he  was  quarreling 
with  fate  itself,  and  not  with  the  boy.  "It's 


CURING   TOMFOOLERY.  83 

all  well  enough  to  talk,  but  when  you  can't 
do  a  thing,  how  are  you  going  to  do  it?" 

" How's  your  mother  on  such  things?" 
asked  Sam  Jones.  "I  always  go  for  my 
mother,  and  if  I  can  fetch  her  over,  she's 
sure  to  fetch  the  old  man." 

"I  hain't  got  that  kind  of  a  mother," 
replied  Lew,  bitterly.  "  Father  always 
fetches  her,  and  he  fetches  me,  too,  some 
times.  When  he  says  anything,  I  don't 
care  what  it  is,  she  says  just  the  same  thing. 
I  never  heard  her  quarrel  or  dispute  him  in 
all  my  life.  I  believe  if  he  said  he  had 
made  up  his  mind  that  it  was  best  for  him  to 
chop  her  head  off,  she'd  say,  like  she  always 
does,  'I  agree  with  you  perfectly.'  That's 
the  kind  of  mother  I've  got." 

"But  can't  you  get  around  her?"  asked 
Tom  Smith,  who  didn't  exactly  comprehend 
the  logic. 

"Of  course  I  can,  but  she  ain't  the  one  to 
get  round.  The  old  gentleman  is  boss  in 
our  house,  and  he  makes  the  dust  fly.  The 
first  thing  he  asks  me  when  I  get  home  is 
whether  Old  Gibbs  has  whipped  me.  If 


84  LIMBER   LEW. 

he  hain't,  all  right.  If  he  has,  don't  he 
make  me  dance  though?  He  used  to  teach 
school  before  I  was  born,  and  he  knows  how 
to  lick  better  than  Old  Gibbs  can,  and  he 
gets  just  enough  practice  on  me  to  keep  his 
hand  in." 

"If  I  had  such  a  boss  as  that,"  observed 
Dick  Davis,  "I'd  leave  him,  that's  what 
I'd  do.  If  I  could'n't  jine  a  circus,  I'd  jine 
an  oyster  wagon,  or  set  on  top  of  a  charcoal 
wagon  and  yell  'C-h-a-r-c-o-a-l!'  for,  I  tell 
you,  I'm  an  independent  sort  of  chap,  and 
I  don't  have  anybody  putting  on  airs  about 


me.' 


And  Dick  shoved  his  hands  down  in  his 
pockets  and  strutted  back  and  forth,  so 
that  all  might  look  upon  and  admire  him. 

"How  'bout  yesterday,  when  Old  Gibbs 
catched  you  matching  pins,  hay?"  sneered 
Billy  Huggins,  glancing  sideways  at  him. 
"The  first  cut  he  gave  you,  you  slid  under 
the  desk,  and  then  he  grabbed  you  by  the 
neck,  and  pulled  you  out  and  lammed  you 
ag'in.  I  guess  Old  Gibbs  put  on  airs  then, 
didn't  he?" 


CURING   TOMFOOLERY.  85 

"Who's  talking  about  Old  Gibbs?"  de 
manded  Dick,  fairly  cornered  by  the  laugh 
which  Billy  turned  upon  him.  "Of  course 
there  ain't  any  use  in  picking  up  a  fuss  here 
at  school,  though  I've  had  a  notion  more 
than  once  to  lambast  him." 

The  derisive  merriment  which  greeted 
this  boast  didn't  tend  to  comfort  Dick,  who 
looked  as  if  he  couldn't  get  much  madder 
without  striking  or  kicking  some  one. 

The  conversation  was  becoming  livelier 
each  minute,  and  there  is  no  telling  how  it 
would  have  ended,  had  it  not  been  broken 
in  upon  by  the  loud  rap-rap-rap  of  the 
teacher's  ferule  against  the  window  sash, 
announcing  that  the  recess  had  terminated. 
There  was  an  instant's  scramble  and  rush; 
and  as  most  of  the  lads  were  standing  closely 
together,  two  or  three  were  overturned  by 
the  sudden  start. 

Curiously  enough,  Lew  Fenwick  and 
Billy  Huggins  were  the  sufferers — that  is, 
they  were  the  only  ones  who  incurred  any 
serious  consequences.  The  two  turned  and 
started  in  such  a  manner  that  they  came  in 


86  LIMBER   LEW. 

violent  collision,  and  both  not  only  fell  to 
the  ground,  but  rolled  into  the  water. 

The  agility  of  the  former  enabled  him  to 
avoid  much  wetting,  but  both  feet  went  in, 
and  the  water  came  up  to  his  knees.  He 
was  out  in  a  twinkling,  and  caught  the  arm 
of  Billy,  whose  bath  was  about  the  same. 

"Oh,  you'll  catch  it'"  exclaimed  several, 
who  saw  the  mishap. 

"Who  cares?"  replied  Lew,  angered  at 
the  slip,  and  mistrustful  of  what  was  com 
ing.  "It  was  an  accident  to  us  both." 

"You  can'tmake  Old  Gibbs  believe  that. ' ' 

' '  Then  he  can  give  us  a  licking,  that'  sail." 

Billy  Huggins  was  barefooted,  and  he 
thought  he  saw  a  chance  of  averting  a 
whipping  by  rolling  up  his  trowsers— 
following  a  world-wide  fashion  among  boys. 
If  the  teacher  didn't  view  him  too  critically 
as  he  came  in,  there  was  a  good  chance  of 
escaping;  but  he  could  not  look  closely  at 
his  lower  limbs  without  seeing  that  the 
garments  were  wetted  thoroughly. 

The  case  was  different  with  Lew  Fenwick. 
He  was  always  dressed  well,  and  was 


CURING   TOMFOOLERY.  87 

never  permitted  to  come  to  school  without 
shoes  and  stockings.  To  have  removed 
them  would  have  attracted  the  notice  of 
the  teacher  at  once.  So  he  determined  to 
make  no  effort  to  escape  the  inevitable. 

" Never  mind,  Billy,"  said  he,  in  a 
sympathetic  tone,  as  they  walked  along, 
side  by  side.  "You  just  keep  still,  and 
don't  say  anything,  and  I  guess  you'll  come 
out  all  right.  I'll  have  to  take  it  though." 

"It's  too  blamed  bad!"  muttered  Billy, 
who,  feeling  quite  hopeful,  could  well 
afford  to  growl  at  the  misfortunes  of  his 
playmate.  "Wouldn't  it  be  nice  if  we  had 
a  teacher  like  they've  got  over  at  Ewing- 
ville,  named  Mr.  Gilbert?  He  plays  ball 
with  the  boys,  goes  and  stays  over  night, 
and  takes  a  microscope  and  shows  the  fellers 
great  big  boy-constrictors  that  are  in  drops 
of  water;  and  he  never  whips  any  of  the 
chaps,  unless  they  get  really  ugly  and 
deserve  it.  And  they  all  learn  a  plagued 
sight  more  than  we  do." 

By  this  time  the  school-house  was  reached 
and  the  youngsters  began  trooping  in,  the 


88  LIMBER   LEW. 

girls  ranging  along  upon  one  side  of  the 
room,  and  the  boys  upon  the  other. 

Nothing  unusual  occurred,  and  Lew 
entertained  a  faint  hope  that  he  had  not 
attracted  the  notice  of  the  stern  pedagogue. 

Reaching  his  seat,  he  shoved  his  legs  as 
far  under  the  desk  as  possible.  Indeed,  he 
overdid  the  matter,  taking  such  extra  pre 
cautions  that  they  defeated  their  own  pur 
pose,  and  drew  attention  to  the  efforts  he 
was  making  to  escape  suspicion. 

Billy  Huggins'  rolled-up  trowsers  passed 
muster  and  his  heart  thrilled  with  hope. 

In  a  few  minutes  all  were  conning  their 
lessons,  the  room  being  filled  with  a  hum 
such  as  comes  from  myriads  of  bees. 

This  continued  some  ten  minutes,  when 
it  was  suddenly  broken  by  the  thunderous 
tones  of  the  teacher. 

"Has  there  been  any  tomfoolery  going 
on  at  recess?" 

The  humming  ceased  and  the  stillness  of 
the  tomb  followed;  but  no  one  spoke.  All 
knew  what  it  meant,  however,  and  several 
looked  slyly  at  Lew,  whose  face  flushed; 


CURING   TOMFOOLERY.  89 

but  he  bent  the  more  closely  over  his  task, 
and  never  looked  to  the  right  or  left. 

"I  say,  has  there  been  any  tomfoolery 
going  on  at  recess?  I  want  to  know." 

The  same  profound  silence  succeeded, 
no  one  opening  his  lips. 

"  All  those  who  have  behaved  themselves 
while  they  were  out,  raise  their  hands." 

Every  one  in  the  room  held  up  his  or  her 
hand,  although  it  must  be  confessed  that 
there  were  two — Lew  and  Billy — who  were 
rather  timid  about  it. 

"Aha-a!  that's  it;  is  it?"  called  the 
teacher,  "I  think  some  boys'  memories 
need  to  be  jogged  a  little.  Lewis  Fenwick, 
why  don't  you  speak  out?" 

The  boy  turned  his  crimson  face  and 
looked  at  the  teacher. 

"I    haven't    been  doing    anything." 

"You  haven't,  eh?"  repeated  the  ped 
agogue,  coming  down  from  his  perch  be 
hind  his  high  desk.  "What's  the  trouble 
with  your  shoes  and  stockings?" 

"When  I  started  to  come  here,  I  fell 
into  the  water.  I  got  out  as  quick  as  I 


90  LIMBER   LEW. 

could,  and  had  no  thought  of  going  in 
swimming. " 

"  That's  a  fine  story  to  tell — a  fine  story 
to  tell,"  commented  the  instructor,  who 
took  it  for  granted  that  all  his  boys  would 
lie,  under  any  and  every  circumstance. 
"Youngsters  like  you  should  keep  away 
from  the  water,  if  you  can't  help  falling 
in.  But  I  know  better.  You  were  at 
your  tomfoolery  and  thought  you  would  go 
in  swimming,  and  deceive  with  a  story 
that  you  had  fallen  in.  Til  jog  your 
memory  for  you. " 

"  No,  sir,  I  never  go  in  swimming  with  my 
shoes  on— 

''Silence,  sir!  I  want  none  of  your 
impertinence. " 

"If  you  don't  believe  me,  ask  the  boys. 
They  saw  it—  " 

1 '  Silence !    Don't  you  hear?  " 

"I  couldn't  help  it." 

"Not  content  with  your  falsehoods,  you 
must  be  impertinent.  I'll  teach  you  man 
ners!" 

By  this  time  he  had  grasped  Lew  by  his 


CURING   TOMFOOLERY.  91 

coat  collar,  and  he  laid  the  stick  over  him 
with  cruel  vigor. 

The  poor  lad  writhed  with  pain,  for 
every  blow  told,  and  a  man  who  has  prac 
tised  whipping  youngsters  for  twenty-five 
years  doesn't  waste  any  effort. 

But  not  an  outcry  or  whimper  escaped 
the  boy.  He  was  proud,  and  controlling 
his  emotions  by  a  mighty  effort  would  have 
been  whipped  to  death  without  a  murmur. 

The  pedagogue  knew  that  each  stroke 
inflicted  intense  pain,  even  if  it  brought  no 
outcry,  and  he  kept  it  up  until  fully  satis 
fied.  Then  he  turned  and  leisurely  walked 
back  to  his  desk,  remarking  as  he  did  so : 

"  I'll  teach  boys  how  to  cut  up  their  antics 
and  indulge  in  tomfoolery,  and  then  tell 
falsehoods  and  be  impertinent  about  it." 

He  had  nearly  reached  his  perch  when 
he  observed  that  Billy  Huggins  was  study 
ing  a  great  deal  harder  than  usual.  There 
are  " signs"  in  every  school  which  are  more 
significant  to  the  teacher  than  words 
and  he  knew  on  the  instant  what  this 
meant. 


92  LIMBER   LEW. 

"It  seems  to  me  your  pants  have  a  sus 
picious  look/' 

Mr.  Gibbs  was  a  stickler  for  the  correct 
use  of  words,  unaware  that  he  committed 
an  error  in  speaking  of  a  boy's  "pants." 
His  remark,  however,  uttered  in  his  usual 
loud  voice,  sent  a  shiver  through  Billy 
Huggins,  who  looked  up  with  a  pitiful, 
pleading  expression  that  would  have 
touched  the  heart  of  almost  any  one. 

"Yes,  sir;  me  and  Lew  started  to  run, 
and  we  run  agin  each  other,  and  I  fell  in, 
too ;  but  we  didn't  mean  to  do  it,  and  I  will 
try  and  be  more  careful  next  time— 

"Silence!  You  and  he  have  concocted 
this  story  together.  If  you  had  told  me 
the  truth,  it  wouldn't  have  been  so  bad;  but 
when  a  boy  adds  falsehood  to  disobe 
dience —  " 

"But  I  hain't  told  a,ny  lie—" 

"Silence!  Now  you're  at  your  imperti 
nence.  When  I  was  a  boy  of  your  age  I 
would  have  had  my  tongue  torn  out  if  I 
had  sauced  my  teacher  in  that  style." 

"But    I    ain't   sassing    anybody,"    per- 


CURING   TOMFOOLERY.  93 

sisted  Billy,  who  was  so  terrified  that  he 
was  getting  things  mixed,  and  was  guided 
by  a  blind  instinct  to  defer  the  dreaded 
punishment  as  long  as  possible.  "I 
wouldn't  sass  anybody  for  all  the  world." 
"  Aha-a !  That's  a  pretty  way  to  talk !" 
With  this  he  seized  him  by  the  nape  of 
his  coat,  and  began  the  performance  with 
which  he  had  cheered  his  way  for  years  and 
years.  His  second  victim  was  of  different 
temperament  from  the  first,  and  the  first 
blow  had  hardly  descended,  when  he 
emitted  a  yell  of  which  a  Comanche  Indian 
would  have  been  proud. 

This  gave  the  pedagogue  an  excuse  for 
punishing  him  for  making  so  great  a  racket, 
whereupon  he  whipped  him  harder  than 
ever;  and  as  an  inevitable  result,  the  poor 
victim  filled  the  room  with  his  outcries 
that  were  all  in  vain. 


94  LIMBER   LEW. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  APPEAL. 

/^CHILDHOOD'S  sorrows  are  transient; 
\^S  and  before  school  was  dismissed 
Billy  Huggins  had  forgotten  his 
punishment,  excepting  now  and  then,  when 
moving  about,  he  was  reminded  of  the  sharp 
blows  he  had  received.  At  such  times  he 
wrinkled  his  brows  with  momentary  pain, 
and  muttered: 

"  I'm  ten  years  old,  and  in  ten  years  more 
I'll  be  a  man,  and  then  I'll  get  square  with 
Gibbs.  He  give  me  my  first  licking  the 
first  day  I  come  to  school,  and  I  made  a 
mark  on  my  slate,  and  meant  to  do  it  every 
time  afterward,  so  as  to  keep  the  account 
straight.  It  wasn't  long  before  I  got  one 
side  of  the  slate  full,  and  I  found  if  I  kept  on, 
and  marked  it  every  time,  it  would  take  the 
whole  side  of  the  school-house,  so  I  just 
stopped,  and  I'll  take  it  all  out  of  him  at 


THE   APPEAL.  95 

once.  I'll  begin  some  Monday  morning, 
and  hammer  him  till  Saturday  night — " 

Just  then  somebody  threw  a  paper  wad, 
which  struck  the  youngster  on  the  end  of 
his  nose,  causing  an  abrupt  change  in  the 
current  of  his  thoughts,  as  he  turned  about 
to  find  who  did  it.  But  every  boy  was 
studying  with  might  and  main,  looking  as 
innocent  as  cooing  doves.  The  little  dere 
liction  had  escaped  the  eye  of  the  teacher 
even. 

It  was  near  the  hour  for  dismissal,  the 
last  exercise  being  spelling.  There  were 
two  classes,  which  were  arranged  along  the 
side  of  the  apartment,  one  after  the  other. 
Beginning  at  the  head,  the  teacher  gave  out 
the  words  in  turn,  until  the  lesson  was  ex 
hausted.  Whenever  one  missed,  it  passed 
down  the  class  until  it  was  correctly  given, 
when  the  successful  pupil  took  his  place 
above  all  who  had  failed.  Those  who 
failed  with  two  words  were  required  to  stay 
after  school,  so  that  all  were  working  hard. 

Some  of  the  boys  sat  with  their  hands  to 
their  ears  to  shut  out  the  buzzing,  and  two 

f 


96  LIMBER   LEW. 

or  three  now  and  then  rapidly  covered  and 
uncovered  them,  for  the  sake  of  the  grotes 
que  uproar  that  seemed  to  come  and  go  with 
the  process.  Others,  especially  the  girls, 
had  a  habit  of  swaying  back  and  forth,  as 
they  studied,  and  the  contortions  of  some 
of  their  lips,  as  they  rolled  out  their  words, 
were  astonishing. 

At  last  the  exercises  were  finished,  and 
precisely  one  hour  later  than  usual  the 
school  was  dismissed,  and  the  children 
wended  their  way  homeward. 

There  was  no  little  indignation  expres?  ed, 
particularly  by  the  girls,  at  the  barbarity  of 
the  teacher,  in  punishing  the  lads  as  he  did. 

The  most  pity  was  shown  for  Billy,  as  he 
was  the  smallest,  and  had  done  all  the  yell 
ing.  There  was  a  sort  of  belief  or  super 
stition  that,  as  Lew  excelled  them  all  in 
personal  activity,  so  he  possessed  a  certain 
invulnerability  against  pain,  when  it  came 
from  the  teacher's  "gad." 

But  the  boy  dreaded  the  punishment  at 
the  hands  of  his  father  more  than  anything 
else;  and  as  he  walked  thoughtfully  home- 


THE   APPEAL.  97 

ward,  after  parting  with  the  others,  his 
thoughts  were  busy  over  the  problem — 
whether  there  was  no  way  of  escaping  this 
second  visitation. 

"I  could  do  it  by  telling  a  lie, "  he  said  to 
himself,  "but  that  won't  pay.  I  promised 
mother,  before  she  died,  that  I  wouldn't  tell 
any  lies,  and  I'll  be  murdered  before  I  do  it ! 
If  I  try  to  keep  out  of  father's  way,  it  will 
make  him  suspicious,  and  if  I  put  myself  in 
his  way,  he'll  be  sure  to  ask  me  whether  I've 
had  a  licking.  If  he'd  only  wait  till  I  could 
explain  the  particulars,  I  think  he'd  be  a 
little  easier;  but  he's  as  bad  as  old  Gibbs  to 
shut  you  up,  when  you  want  to  argue.  The 
only  way  I  see  is  to  take  the  chances.  I've 
a  great  notion  to  do  as  Tom  Smith  said,  and 
see  whether  I  can't  get  round  mother.  But 
there  ain't  much  hope  there.  If  she'd  only 
get  mad,  and  tear  around  once  in  awhile,  it 
would  be  a  good  deal  nicer;  but  I  don't 
believe  she  ever  got  mad  in  all  her  life. 
She  ain't  a  bit  like  my  own  mother.  She 
used  to  whip  me,  when  I  was  a  bad  boy, 
and  I  loved  her  twice  as  much  for  it;  for  1 


98  LIMBER    LEW. 

always  deserved  a  little  more  than  I  got. 
She  always  had  me  kneel  down  beside  her 
knee  and  say  my  prayers.  After  I  was 
gone  to  be^,  she  would  come  and  tuck  me 
up,  and  if  I  was  asleep,  give  me  a  kiss. 
When  I  heard  her  coming  I  used  to  shut 
my  eyes  on  purpose  to  get  her  kiss.  She 
used  to  scold  father,  too,  and  I  know  he 
deserved  it.  When  he  came  home  with  a 
very  red  face,  and  was  very  loving  and 
affectionate,  she  wouldn't  let  him  come 
near  her ;  and  I  heard  her  scold  him  half  the 
night  about  his  drinking  wine,  and  she 
made  him  promise  to  stop  it,  and  he  did, 
till  he  got  this  new  mother  for  me. 

"That's  the  kind  of  mother  to  have,"  he 
added,  as  he  enthusiastically  recalled  the 
picture  of  that  noble  woman..  "When 
father  was  sick,  she  kept  by  him  night  and 
day,  and  I  heard  him  tell  her,  more  than 
once,  that  she  was  the  best  wife  God  ever 
made.  It's  sort  of  queer,"  continued  Lew, 
not  exactly  able  to  understand  where  the 
specific  weakness  of  the  stepmother  lay. 
"She  never  scolds  me,  and  never  says  a 


THE   APPEAL.  99 

cross  word  to  father,  and  yet  she  don't  seem 
to  amount  to  anything." 

Just  there  he  hit  it  exactly.  The  second 
Mrs.  Judge  Fenwick  amounted  to  nothing. 
She  was  a  cipher,  a  nonentity — a  negative 
woman,  whose  presence  in  a  household  is  no 
more  felt  than  that  of  a  bronze  image.  A 
woman  without  a  temper  is  intolerable ;  and 
a  person  who  expects  genuine  happiness 
with  such  a  partner,  might  as  well  expect  to 
live  exclusively  on  maple  candy  and  bon 
bons.  A  man  needs  a  woman  with  a  mind 
of  her  own,  who  will  tell  him  of  his  fault,  and 
whose  instinct  will  save  him  from  a  hundred 
pitfalls. 

When  he  has  been  listening  to  some  oily- 
tongued  sharper,  who  has  filled  him  with 
the  gorgeousness  of  his  grand  speculation, 
and  he  rushes  home  and  tells  his  wife, 
" there's  millions  in  it,"  and  proposes  to 
mortgage  their  little  property  for  the  sake 
of  going  in  on  "the  ground-floor,"  and 
making  their  eternal  fortune — then's  the 
time  for  the  wife  to  smile  sweetly,  shake  her 
head  and  say:  "No,  John;  I'll  never  con- 


100  LIMBER   LEW. 

sent!  If  it  hadn't  been  for  me  you  would 
have  ruined  us  all  long  ago,  with  these  wild 
schemes  of  yours.  You  may  as  well  save 
your  breath,  for  /  won't  sign  off!  In  about 
a  week's  time,  you  will  come  to  me  and  say 
you  were  the  biggest  fool  in  all  creation; 
and  John,  my  dear,  7  won't  dispute  you. " 

Perhaps  the  old  gentleman  gets  angry 
and  stamps  off  to  bed,  making  some  ungen- 
tlemanly  remarks  on  the  way;  but  in  a  few 
days  he  comes  around,  and  appreciates 
the  crystal-like  clearness  of  his  wife's  vision, 
when  compared  with  his  own. 

Then  perhaps  he  comes  home  a  little 
thick  of  utterance,  with  a  flushed  face  and 
a  wine  or  brandy  bottle  in  his  pocket,  which 
he  sets  upon  the  sideboard  with  the  com 
placent  remark  that  at  last  he  has  found  a 
cure  for  the  dyspepsia,  which  has  tormented 
him  for  years,  and  he  recommends  to  his 
wife  to  try  a  little  in  the  morning  and 
through  the  day,  as  it  will  do  a  great  deal  to 
"tone  up"  her  system,  which  he  thinks 
needs  it. 

This  is  the  time  the  true  wife  "takes  the 


THE   APPEAL.  101 

floor,"  and  straightens  out  matters.  The 
first  thing  she  does  with  the  black  bottle  is 
to  smash  it,  and  to  warn  him,  in  her  most 
awful  voice,  never  to  bring  the  accursed 
thing  into  the  house  again.  As  for  dys 
pepsia,  if  he  ever  really  had  the  fashionable 
complaint,  he  has  only  to  stop  gormandiz 
ing  ,  and  to  stretch  his  limbs  a  little,  instead 
of  riding,  when  he  has  no  more  than  a  block 
to  walk.  At  any  rate,  the  worst  possible 
disease  of  which  a  man  can  die  is  drunken 
ness  itself. 

Such  a  woman  the  second  Mrs.  Judge 
Fenwick  wasn't' 

Lew  found,  upon  reaching  home  and 
doing  his  chores,  that  his  father  was  not 
expected  until  late  in  the  evening;  so  he 
took  tea  alone  with  his  mother,  quite  hope 
ful  that  the  terrible  hiatus  would  be  bridged 
over. 

So  Mrs.  Fenwick  occupied  one  end  of  the 
table  and  Lew  the  other,  and  it  required  no 
professional  phrenologist  to  read  the  mental 
contrast  between  the  two.  The  lady  would 
be  called  handsome  by  a  few,  for  she 


102  LIMBER   LEW. 

possessed  regular  features,  and  her  hair 
and  false  curls  were  arranged  in  the  most 
pleasing  way  possible.  Besides  this,  she 
was  dressed  richly  and  tastefully,  barring 
there  was  rather  too  much  jewelry  visible; 
but  the  gold  watch  and  diamond  ear-rings, 
chain  and  breastpin,  and  rings,  were  all 
presents  from  the  judge,  and  she  wore  them 
to  please  him. 

But  the  face  lacked  expression,  and  the 
words  that  came  from  between  the  pretty 
lips  were  insipid;  and  the  wonder  was,  how 
a  man  of  Judge  Fenwick's  ability  could  have 
been  attracted  by  such  mental  flatulence, 
or  if  attracted,  why  it  was  that  he  went 
through  the  formality  of  a  courtship,  when 
he  might  have  brought  her  into  court  upon  a 
writ  of  habeas  corpus,  and  kept  her  forever. 

But  it  is  just  such  old  fellows  who  make 
fools  of  themselves,  when  they  come  to 
choose  a  second  helpmate. 

"Mother,"  said  Lew,  after  a  few  unim 
portant  observations,  "do  you  think  it  is 
right  to  whip  a  boy,  when  he  hain't  done 
anything  wrong?" 


THE   APPEAL.  103 

"Well — no,"  she  answered,  rather  fright 
ened  to  find  herself  compelled  to  make  a 
positive  replv. 

"Well,  old  Gibbs— I  mean  Mr.  Gibbs, 
our  schoolteacher,  whips  us  boys  when  he 
hadn't  ought  to." 

"That  I  should  think  was  very  wrong." 

"He  whipped  me  to-day,  when  he  hadn't 
any  right  to." 

"Why,  how  was  that?" 

Thereupon  Lew  proceeded  to  describe,  in 
his  most  graphic  style,  the  outrage  he  had 
suffered  that  afternoon,  dwelling  most 
emphatically  upon  the  absurdity  of  his 
going  into  the  water  without  taking  off  his 
shoes  and  stockings.  He  made  no  reference 
to  the  monkey  adventure,  for  he  know  she 
would  show  no  interest  in  that;  and  in  fact 
he  felt  none,  just  then,  himself,  his  purpose 
being  to  gain  her  over  to  his  view  of  the 
injustice  he  had  undergone. 

"Now,  mother,"  said  he,  when  he  had 
finished  the  narration,  "don't  you  think  he 
did  wrong  in  whipping  me  for  what  I 
couldn't  help?" 


104  LIMBER  LEW. 

"Well — yes;  it  does  seem  so.  But  then 
I  shall  have  to  ask  the  judge  his  opinion." 

"But  haven't  you  got  an  opinion  of  your 
own?  I  want  you  to  tell  father  what  you 
think  about  it." 

"He  hasn't  asked  me." 

"What  of  that?"  demanded  the  lad, 
who  was  forced  to  be  somewhat  pert,  in 
order  to  keep  her  to  the  point.  "I  don't 
suppose  he  will  ask  you;  but  you  know  he 
has  a  rule  of  whipping  me  whenever  I  have 
got  it  at  school.  We  won't  say  anything 
about  it  unless  he  asks  me,  and  then  I  want 
you  to  explain  the  whole  thing  to  him." 

"I  am  afraid  I'll  forget  the  particulars, 
my  dear." 

"There  ain't  many  particulars  to  forget. 
He  just  whipped  me  when  he  hadn't  a  right 
to.  You  can  remember  that,  can't  you?" 

"I'll  try  to;  but,"  she  added,  with  a 
languid  air,  "I  am  afraid  the  judge  won't 
like  any  interference  upon  my  part." 

"You  can't  tell  till  you  try.  He'll 
listen  to  you,  when  he  won't  hear  a  word 
from  me;  and  I'm  sure,  if  you'll  only  do  it, 


THE   APPEAL. 

it  will  save  me  an  awful  whipping.  If 
you'll  try,  mother,  even  if  it  don't  do  any 
good,  I'll  be  the  best  boy  I  know  how." 

" You'll  do  that  any  way,  I'm  sure." 

Lew  wasn't  prepared  to  deny  this  gentle 
insinuation;  but  he  was  certain,  if  she 
would  join  forces  with  him,  he  would  have 
a  great  deal  more  heart  for  the  promised 
reformation.  It  seemed  hard  to  bring  her 
to  a  realizing  sense  of  the  situation;  but  he 
had  every  inducement  to  stick  to  the 
task. 

"  You  think  enough  of  me,  don't  you,  to 
want  to  save  me  from  being  whipped,  when 
I  have  done  no  wrong?" 

"I  think  that  much  of  everybody,"  was 
the  philanthropic  answer.  "I  don't  wish 
anybody  to  suffer  who  hasn't  done  any 
wrong." 

" That's  me,"  he  hastened  to  say.  "I'll 
bet  if  any  fellow  should  come  up  before 
father  for  trial  on  any  such  a  charge,  he 
wouldn't  let  the  jury  find  him  guilty.  I 
don't  see,  then,  why  he  should  serve  me 
worse  than  a  stranger." 


106  LIMBER  LEW. 

"  Oh !  you  shouldn't  speak  that  way  about 
the  judge — Ah!  here  he  comes!" 

At  that  moment  Judge  Fenwick,  a  mid 
dle-aged,  rather  portly  gentleman,  in  spec 
tacles,  and  with  a  stern  expression  of  count 
enance,  entered  the  room,  having  just 
turned  his  horse  over  to  his  servant. 

The  minute  he  made  his  appearance,  Mrs. 
Fenwick  clapped  her  hands  with  an  expres 
sion  of  delight,  rushed  to  him,  and  throwing 
her  arms  about  his  neck,  kissed  him  half  a 
dozen  tunes,  " gushing"  as  much  as  if  he 
had  been  absent  as  many  weeks  as  it  was 
hours. 

He  used  to  profess  great  fondness  and 
pleasure  over  this  evidence  of  affection,  and 
even  now  he  returned  her  caresses,  although 
it  looked  very  much  as  if  he  considered 
them  something  of  a  bore. 

"Well,  Lewis,  how  have  you  made  out  at 
school  to-day?"  he  asked,  as  he  laid  aside 
his  duster  and  took  his  seat  at  the 
table. 

"Pretty  well,  sir.  I  knew  all  my  lessons, 
and  tried  to  be  a  good  boy." 


THE    APPEAL,  107 

"Did  Mr.  Gibbs  find  it  necessary  to 
chastise  you  for  any  fault?" 

"We  had  an  awful  time  at  school  this 
noon.  There  was  a  monkey  come  along, 
and  caught  up  Captain  Reynolds'  baby, 
and  run  up  a  tree  with  it,  and—" 

" Never  mind  about  the  monkey;  you 
haven't  answered  my  question." 

"Me  and  Billy  Huggins  run  against  each 
other,  and  got  our  feet  wet;  but  it  was  an 
accident,  and  he  whipped  us  both  for  going 
in  swimming,  but  I  hadn't  any  more  idea 
than  the  man  in  the  moon,  and  I — " 

"That  will  do.  Go  into  the  sitting-room, 
and  I  will  see  you  after  tea." 

As  Lew  rose  to  obey,  he  cast  an  appeal 
ing  glance  at  Mrs.  Fenwick,  but  she  was 
looking  at  her  gold  watch. 

"Love,  you  will  have  to  take  this  to  town 
to-morrow.  I  wound  it  up  so  hard,  to-day, 
that  something  broke,  and  it  won't  run  at 
all." 

No  hope  there.  Whether  she  purposely 
avoided  any  reference  to  the  subject,  or 
whether  she  had  forgotten  all  about  it,  it  is 


108  LIMBER   LEW. 

hard  to  say,  but  the  lad,  as  he  walked  out 
of  the  room  in  obedience  to  the  command 
of  his  parent,  felt  that  his  labor  in  that  di 
rection  had  been  thrown  away. 


THE   CIRCUS.  109 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  CIRCUS. 

LEW  Fenwick  sat  down  in  his  chair,  and 
took  up  his  slate  and  arithmetic,  but 
his  heart  was  heavy.  The  assistance  he 
had  counted  upon  had  been  denied  him,  and 
having  unjustly  suffered  punishment  once 
he  was  given  the  reflection  that  a  repe 
tition  of  the  cruelty  was  near  at  hand. 

"Maybe  she  wanted  to  wait  till  I  left  the 
room?"  he  reflected,  with  a  faint  flutter 
of  hope.  "I  hope  so!" 

And  he  stealthily  moved  to  the  door, 
and  drew  it  slightly  ajar,  so  that  he  might 
hear  what  passed  between  them. 

They  were  talking,  just  then,  about  a 
new  silk  dress  that  the  husband  had  prom 
ised  the  wife,  and  of  course  that  was  the 
most  interesting  subject  in  the  world  to 
her;  but  he  seemed  to  weary  of  it,  and 
it  was  necessarily  finished  before  the  meal. 


110  LIMBER   LEW. 

Then  came  a  lull,  which  was  unexpectedly 
broken  by  Mrs.  Fenwick. 

"My  love,  Lewis  wanted  me  to  say 
something  to  you." 

"He  did,  eh?     Well,  what  is  it?" 

"He  said  his  teacher,  Mr.  Smith — no; 
what's  his  name?  Mr.  Gibbs — punished 
him  very  severely  to-day.' ' 

"He  told  me  that  himself/ '  said  the  judge 
who  seemed  in  no  very  gracious  mood 
this  evening. 

"Sure  enough,  so  he  did;  but  he  ex 
plained  the  whole  circumstance  to  me, 
and  it  was  this  way — I  declare,  I've  for 
gotten  all  about  it!" 

"Then  I  wouldn't  try  it  recall  it.  It 
might  rack  your  brains  too  much." 

"I  agree  with  you  perfectly;  but,  if  I 
am  not  mistaken,  your  son  thinks  he  was 
punished  unjustly." 

"Most  criminals  do — and  what  of  that?" 

"I  declare,  I  don't  know  as  there  is  any 
thing.  Well,  he  wanted  me  to  speak  to 
you;  and  I've  done  it,  haven't  I  ?' ' 

"So  it  seems.     However,  after  this,   I 


THE   CIRCUS.  Ill 

would  not  meddle  in  such  matters.  The 
law  recognizes  the  husband  as  the  head  of 
the  household,  and  the  wife  should  never 
interfere  in  his  discipline." 

"I  agree  with  you  perfectly,"  she  as 
sented,  with  one  of  her  sweetest  smiles. 

"Then  when  he  comes  to  you  with  his 
stuff,  do  not  listen  to  him.' ' 

"I  won't,  dear.  Will  you  take  another 
cup  of  tea,  love?' ' 

"No;  pour  me  out  a  goblet  of  wine. 
My  duties  in  court  have  been  very  severe 
to-day,  and  I  am  quite  used  up." 

"I  am  so  sorry  for  you!"  said  she,  ready 
to  burst  into  tears,  as  she  sprang  up  to 
obey  his  command. 

"There,  dear,  I  have  filled  the  goblet 
full.  Shall  I  touch  it  with  my  lips  to 
sweeten  it,  as  you  used  to  ask  me?" 

"No,  no;  have  done  with  such  non 
sense  ! 

And  he  took  it  rather  brusquely  from 
her  hand,  and  dashed  it  off. 

"Will  you  have  some  more?" 

"Of  course  not." 


112  LIMBER   LEW. 

As  she  replaced  it  upon  the  sideboard, 
her  handkerchief  went  to  her  eyes. 

" What's  the  matter  now?"  he  asked, 
impatiently. 

"You  are  angry  with  me  because  I 
spoke  about  Lew.  Indeed,  I  didn't  mean 
to  offend  you,  and  I'll  never  do  so  again. " 

And  at  this  point  the  sobs  came  so  fast 
that  she  could  say  no  more. 

She  dropped  down  in  her  chair  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  table,  and  with  her  face 
buried  in  her  lace  handkerchief,  made  a 
pretty,  foolish  picture. 

The  judge  knit  his  brows,  and  perhaps, 
at  that  moment,  he  contrasted  this  sense 
less  doll  with  the  noble  woman  who  had 
occupied  that  position  before  her. 

"There,  there!"  he  said,  softening  his 
tones  somewhat;  "don't  be  silly.  I'm  not 
angry  with  you  at  all." 

"Then  kiss  me,"  she  pleaded,  as  she 
moved  to  him  and  leaned  over  his  shoulder. 

The  salute  was  given,  and  she  went  back 
to  her  seat,  smiling  as  she  wiped  the  tears 
from  her  eyes. 


THE   CIRCUS.  113 

The  tea  finished,  Judge  Fenwick  arose 
from  his  chair,  walked  to  the  pantry,  where 
he  kept  a  rawhide,  and  then  passed  into 
the  room  where  his  only  child  was  keeping 
up  the  semblance  of  studying  his  lesson. 

The  boy  was  expecting  him,  and  did  not 
open  his  mouth.  When  his  father  com 
manded  him  to  stand  up,  he  obeyed;  and 
he  accepted  the  second  punishment  as  he 
did  the  first,  without  a  single  outcry,  and 
without  attempting  to  evade  its  full,  cruel 
force. 

"Now  go  to  your  room,  and  don't  forget 
to  report  to  me  to-morrow  night,"  said  the 
judge,  as  he  walked  out  of  the  apartment 
and  joined  his  wife,  to  hear  her  discourse 
upon  what  shade  of  silk  was  the  most  be 
coming  to  her  complexion. 

When  Lew  Fenwick  reached  his  apart 
ment,  in  the  second  story,  he  carefully 
locked  it  on  the  inside,  so  as  to  secure  him 
self  against  intrusion — for  he  had  a  plan  of 
his  own  to  carry  out. 

The  place  which  he  had  occupied  ever 
since  his  mother's  death  was  handsomely 


114  LIMBER   LEW. 

furnished,  for  Judge  Fenwick  was  wealthy, 
and  shared  with  his  wife  the  wish  that  his 
family  should  preserve  an  appearance 
worthy  his  station. 

The  lad  could  complain  of  nothing, 
except  that  which  was  lost  with  his  own 
mother — a  sympathetic  love,  that  could 
appreciate  a  child's  nature,  and  that  should 
so  beautify  and  glorify  his  home  that  nothing 
in  the  world  could  be  sufficient  to  win  him 
away  from  it. 

"It  isn't  much  over  a  mile  to  Birming 
ham,"  the  boy  said  to  himself,  as  he  walked 
to  the  window  and  looked  out  in  the  moon 
light.  "I  can  reach  it  in  ten  or  fifteen 
minutes  by  putting  on  full  steam,  and  then 
I'll  see  the  whole  performance,  from  a  re 
served  seat." 

Still  he  hesitated,  as  he  stood  rubbing 
his  shoulders  and  arms,  to  soothe  the  pain 
that  lingered  after  the  sharp  cuts  of  the 
rawhide. 

"If  father  finds  out  I've  been  there, 
there'll  be  an  awful  row,  because  he  always 
gets  furious  if  he  hears  I've  been  anywhere 


THE    CIRCUS.  115 

without  asking  him;  but  I  think  I  can 
stand  twice  as  hard  a  whipping  as  this  if  I 
only  know  I  have  deserved  it.  So  here 
goes!" 

Stepping  upon  the  window-sill,  he 
reached  out  to  the  water-spout  at  the  edge, 
and  slid  down  it  as  nimbly  as  Pietro,  the 
monkey,  could  have  done. 

As  he  dropped  lightly  to  the  ground,  he 
paused  a  minute,  to  see  whether  the  coast 
was  clear. 

A  faint  pattering  upon  the  grass  caught 
his  ear,  and  he  turned  his  head. 

It  was  only  Samson,  the  watch-dog,  and 
he  shoved  his  nose  against  Lew's  leg,  seeking 
recognition. 

The  lad  called  his  name,  patted  his  head, 
and  the  satisfied  brute  trotted  back  to  his 
kennel,  while  his  young  master  stole  softly 
out  of  the  gate,  and  took  the  road  to  Bir 
mingham. 

When  a  youngster  starts  upon  such  an 
excursion,  he  can  no  more  walk  than  he  can 
fly,  and  Lew  Fenwick  sped  forward  at  his 
best  speed. 


116  LIMBER   LEW. 

The  road  was  a  well-traveled  highway, 
leading  by  houses  and  cultivated  farms, 
through  small  stretches  of  wood,  until  it 
reached  the  small  town  named,  where 
"  Simpson's  Great  Moral  Menagerie  and 
Circus"  had  engaged  to  exhibit  for  two 
afternoons  and  evenings. 

Its  coming  had  been  heralded  in  the  usual 
manner,  by  flaming  posters,  displayed 
wherever  there  was  sufficient  space,  and 
when  there  was  not,  they  erected  their  own 
board  walls,  and  covered  them.  Some  of 
these  sheets  were  the  size  of  the  side  of  a 
house,  and  contained  all  the  colors  of  the 
rainbow.  They  represented  horses  going 
about  a  ring,  a  half-mile  in  circumference, 
at  full  speed,  while  far  up  in  the  air,  per 
haps  two  hundred  feet,  were  their  riders, 
making  all  manner  of  gyrations,  prelimi 
nary  to  coming  down  again  upon  the 
backs  of  the  steeds. 

Then  there  was  a  rhinoceros,  with  a  horn 
some  eight  or  ten  feet  in  length,  impaling  an 
elephant,  whose  trunk  was  wrapped  around 
the  hogshead-like  belly  of  his  assailant, 


THE   CIRCUS.  117 

while  crimson  daubs,  here  and  there, 
showed  how  plentifully  the  gore  was 
flowing. 

Beside  this,  there  were  cadaverous 
hyenas,  desecrating  a  graveyard,  and  a 
crowd  of  indignant  citizens  coming  down 
upon  them,  and  with  the  evident  purpose 
of  interfering;  a  sort  of  Samson,  with 
staring  eyeballs,  uncombed  hair,  and  feet 
planted  far  apart,  while  a  dozen  lions, 
tigers  and  hyenas  were  charging  upon  him, 
with  just  sufficient  rapidity  to  allow  him 
to  seize  them  by  the  jaws,  and  fling  them 
in  every  direction;  and  there  were  the  gnu, 
and  wart-hog,  and  wax-figures  grizzly 
bear,  and  sacred  bull,  and  boa  constrictors, 
which,  if  the  engraving  was  correct,  was 
about  the  size  of  a  coal  train  of  a  hundred 
and  fifty  cars. 

All  these,  and  much  more,  had  been 
blazoned  forth  for  days,  and  even  weeks 
before  the  coming  of  the  "Great  Moral 
Menagerie  and  Circus,"  so  that  there  was 
not  a  family  within  a  radius  of  ten  miles 
that  didn't  know  all  that  could  be  learned 


118  LIMBER   LEW. 

from  these  same  flaming  posters  and  an 
nouncements. 

Thus  it  was  that,  while  Birmingham 
itself  was  a  small  place,  yet  the  attendance 
at  each  performance  was  very  large,  as 
the  surrounding  country  was  freely  drawn 
upon,  and  the  circus  was  doing  such  good 
business  that  the  performers  made  every 
effort  to  please  their  not  over-fastidious  au 
dience. 

The  hour  was  later  than  Lew  Fenwick 
supposed,  and  when  he  reached  Birming 
ham,  the  performance  was  under  way. 

There  was  no  delay  in  finding  the  place. 
He  knew  upon  what  vacant  lot  these 
exhibitions  were  given,  and  then  the  beating 
of  the  drums,  and  the  blare  of  music,  and 
the  few  late  and  hurrying  stragglers,  told 
where  the  central  point  of  attraction  was. 

He  fell  in  with  them,  and  a  minute  later, 
passed  in  beneath  the  canvas  tent,  with  its 
hundreds  of  flags  streaming  to  the  air,  and 
the  hundreds  of  lanterns  illuminating  the 
interior. 

The  audience,  with  one  or  two  exceptions, 


THE   CIRCUS.  119 

were  through  staring  at  the  wild  animals, 
which  were  much  fewer  in  number  than 
would  have  been  supposed  from  the 
pictorial  announcements,  and  the  people 
were  gathered  in  the  amphitheatre  to  view 
the  circus  performances. 

The  place  was  crowded,  there  being  fully 
three  thousand  present.  Lew  concluded 
there  wasn't  much  chance  for  the  reserved 
seat  to  which  he  was  entitled,  but  he  had 
scarcely  entered  when  some  one  called  out : 

"This  way.  Lew.  I've  been  saving  a 
place  for  you!" 

And  to  his  surprise,  he  recognized  the 
showman,  George  Girton,  who  had  made 
the  school-boys  a  visit  that  afternoon  at 
recess. 

The  man  reached  out  his  hand  as  he 
approached,  and  taking  him  by  the  arm, 
led  him  to  the  only  vacant  seat  left,  and 
one  which  had  been  claimed  fully  twenty 
times.  It  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  series 
of  rising  seats,  elevated  just  enough  to  give 
him  the  best  view  possible,  without  per 
mitting  any  one  to  get  in  front. 


120  LIMBER   LEW. 

"I'm  much  obliged  to  you,"  said  the 
grateful  Lew,  feeling  willing,  at  that  mo 
ment  to  undergo  a  hundred  whippings  for 
the  happiness  that  came  to  him  with  the 
exhilarating  prospect.  "Did  you  get  your 
monkey  to-day? '' 

"Yes;  I  found  him  just  after  leaving 
you.  He  knew  my  whistle,  and  came  to 
me,  and  took  his  switching  like  a  school- 
boy." 

Lew  blushed,  for  he  thought  at  first  the 
man  must  be  referring  to  him ;  but  he  was  not. 

"See  here,"  said  the  showman,  leaning 
over  and  speaking  in  a  low,  confidential 
voice;  "when  the  trained  mules  are  brought 
in,  and  the  clown  invites  the  boys  to  come 
forward  and  ride  them,  I  want  you  to  show 
what  you  can  do.  I  suppose,  of  course, 
you  know  how  to  ride?" 

"Yes,  sir.  I  have  never  been  thrown  by 
a  horse  or  colt  in  all  my  life,  and  I've  rid 
den  some  of  the  worst  in  the  country." 

"All  right;  wait  till  the  youngsters  have 
tumbled  about  awhile,  and  then  you  must 
come  out  and  show  them  how  to  ride. " 


THE   CIRCUS.  121 

Lew  promised  to  do  so,  and  Girton  with 
drew  to  leave  him  to  the  full  enjoyment 
of  the  performance,  which  it  may  be  said 
was  now  in  full  blast. 

The  exhibition  was  similar  to  that  which 
is  given  every  season  in  different  parts  of 
the  country.  The  horses  were  of  every 
color,  some  of  them  beautifully  mottled, 
and  they  were  well  trained  in  their  parts. 

They  circled  about  the  ring  at  full  speed, 
inclining  their  bodies  so  far  inward  that 
those  who  did  not  understand  the  law  of 
centripetal  and  centrifugal  forces,  wondered 
why  they  didn't  fall  over  on  their  sides. 

Some  of  them  were  covered  with  a  sort 
of  framework,  over  which  a  white  cloth 
was  laid,  upon  which  the  riders  stood  and 
performed  their  daring  feats  of  horse 
manship.  These  consisted  of  riding  at  full 
speed,  vaulting  into  the  air,  leaping  through 
large  hoops  covered  with  thin  paper,  bound 
ing  over  long  bands  stretched  from  the 
centre  pole  to  the  side  of  the  ring,  and  riding 
two,  three,  or  four  horses  at  a  tune. 

Then,  a  strong  man,  with  one  foot  upon 


122  LIMBER   LEW. 

one  animal  and  one  upon  another,  took  a 
tiny  boy  in  his  arms,  stood  him  upon  his 
shoulder,  and  then  upon  his  head,  the 
steeds  galloping  at  full  speed  all  the  time. 

Shouts  and  clapping  of  hands  followed 
this  exhibition  of  courage  and  skill,  and 
there  were  hundreds  who  looked  upon  the 
little  fellow  as  the  most  wonderful  genius 
the  world  ever  produced.  Inspired  per 
haps  by  the  applause,  he  did  still  more 
thrilling  feats,  such  as  riding  with  his  head 
downward,  supported  by  the  strong  arms 
of  his  father. 

When  this  exhibition  was  finished,  the 
horses  galloped  out  of  the  ring.  On  their 
way  they  encountered  a  cream-colored 
steed,  upon  which  a  small  girl  was  riding. 
He  trotted  leisurely  into  the  ring,  where  the 
same  gentleman  who  had  given  the  per 
formance  with  himself  and  son,  took  charge. 

This  was  Adualina,  advertised  as  "The 
great  child  wonder,  only  ten  years  of  age, 
and  the  most  skillful  equestrian  of  her  age 
in  the  world!" 


IN  THE   RING.  123 


CHAPTER  IX. 

IN  THE  RING. 

u  OENORITA  Adualina,  the  child  won- 
O     der,  "as   she    was    called,    despite 
her   extreme   youth,  was  a  beauti 
ful,  sylph-like  creature,  apparently  ten  or 
twelve  years  old,  of  surpassing  loveliness 
of  feature,  and  with  a  figure  the  perfec 
tion  of  symmetry  and  grace. 

She  was  attired  in  the  usual  fleecy  dress, 
with  golden  spangles,  flesh-colored  tights, 
tiny  flashing  slippers,  and  the  imitation  of  a 
diamond  crown  sparkling  upon  her  head, 
her  luxuriant  black  ringlets  streaming  away 
over  her  shoulders,  as  her  steed  struck  at 
once  into  a  rapid  gallop,  and  she  kissed  her 
little  hand  to  the  cheering  multitude. 

"She  looks  like  an  angel!"  exclaimed 
Lew  Fenwick,  as  he  fixed  his  eyes  upon  her. 
"I  never  saw  any  one  so  beautiful.  Her 
cheeks  are  like — let  me  see — like  those  ox- 


124  LIMBER   LEW. 

heart  cherries,  just  as  they  begin  to  turn 
red,  her  eyes  sparkle  like  stars,  and  oh, 
what  a  sweet  mouth,  and  teeth,  and  nose! 
She's  perfect !  I  don't  see  how  I  ever  could 
think  that  Sue  Williams  and  Fanny  Thomp 
son  were  good-looking!  I  can  never  think 
so  again,  after  looking  at  Senorita  Adua- 
lina." 

By  this  time,  the  mottled  steed  was 
whirilng  around  the  ring,  and  the  tiny 
equestrienne  was  executing  her  skillful 
evolutions,  and  kissing  her  hand  to  the 
multitude  in  recognition  of  their  applause. 

First  one  ribbon  was  stretched  from  the 
centre  pole  to  the  outer  boundary  of  the 
circle,  over  which  she  gracefully  bounded, 
while  her  horse  shot  beneath,  then  another, 
and  another,  until  the  ring  looked  like  an 
immense  wheel,  with  spokes  of  brilliantly- 
colored  bands,  over  which  she  went,  rising 
and  sinking  as  if  upon  the  waves  of  the  sea. 

When  this  had  been  repeated  several 
tunes,  the  hoops  were  introduced,  through 
which  she  passed  with  the  same  ease  and 
unerring  certainty;  then  she  rode  upon  the 


IN  THE   RING.  125 

horse's  hips,  where  she  looked  like  a 
beautiful  bouquet  pinned  on,  as  the  animal 
dashed  away  upon  a  dead  run. 

After  this,  a  second  horse  was  introduced, 
and  as  the  two  galloped  along  side  by  side, 
she  bounded  from  one  to  the  other  with  as 
much  ease  and  accuracy  as  if  they  were 
standing  still. 

Her  really  excellent  exhibition  continued 
for  some  fifteen  minutes,  when,  at  a  word 
from  their  rider,  the  horses  shied  off  and 
trotted  out  of  the  ring  to  the  tent  from 
which  they  had  emerged,  while  the  lovely 
senorita  kissed  her  hands  again  and  again, 
in  reply  to  the  thunderous  applause,  which 
was  continued  for  some  seconds  after  she 
had  disappeared. 

Hurrah!  here  comes  the  clown  and  his 
mules.  Now  look  out  for  fun!  Every 
body  laughs  the  instant  they  appear,  for 
the  jester,  with  his  peaked  hat,  brilliantly 
daubed  cheeks,  and  zebra-like  suit,  cover 
ing  him  from  neck  to  feet,  means  to  make 
them  laugh. 

The  first  mule  is  a  large  animal,  which 


126  LIMBER   LEW. 

he  appears  to  be  holding  by  the  nose,  and 
endeavoring  to  keep  from  trotting  so 
fast;  but  the  animal  does  not  seem  to  heed 
him,  and  keeps  trotting  right  ahead, 
shoving  him,  as  it  were,  before  him,  remind 
ing  us  of  the  check-mule  on  the  tow-path, 
which  throws  his  whole  weight  backward, 
when  he  hears  the  word  of  the  driver,  and 
is  dragged  along  by  the  others. 

The  beast  is  followed  by  two  others,  and 
as  they  enter  the  ring,  the  clown  vaults 
upon  the  back  of  the  largest,  and  straight 
way  the  sport  begins. 

The  mule  goes  along  at  a  leisurely  trot, 
until  he  has  once  passed  around  the  circle, 
when  he  suddenly  halts,  and  his  rider  goes 
over  his  head  all  in  a  heap,  falling  in  such  a 
ridiculous  manner  that  the  multitude  roar 

*• 

with  laughter.  Then  the  clown  gets  up, 
and  brushes  the  sawdust  from  his  clothes 
with  such  a  comical,  woe-begone  look,  that 
the  laughter  breaks  out  more  than  ever. 

Then  it  seems  suddenly  to  strike  him  that 
he  ought  to  punish  the  animal  for  this  treat 
ment,  and  walking  up  to  where  he  was 


IN   THE   RING.  127 

standing,  he  made  a  great  flourish,  which 
terminated  with  a  kick  upon  the  haunch  of 
the  mule,  who  on  the  instant  kicked  back 
again.  His  hoof  did  not  hit  the  clown,  who 
of  course  knew  it  was  coming;  but  every 
body  in  the  audience  supposed  it  did,  for 
he  gave  a  yell,  and  tumbled  so  violently 
backward  that  he  turned  a  complete  somer 
sault. 

More  than  one  man  was  seen  to  laugh  so 
hard  that  he  rolled  off  his  seat,  and  the 
hilarity  became  furious. 

Then  the  jester,  assuming  the  same  mel 
ancholy  expression,  shook  his  head,  and 
walked  to  the  second  mule,  which  he 
mounted,  and  held  on  with  so  wild,  anxious 
expression  of  countenance,  that  it  was 
comical,  indeed,  to  see. 

The  animal  went  along  very  gravely 
for  a  few  minutes,  when  all  of  a  sudden  up 
went  his  heels,  and  away  went  the  clown  in 
a  pile  again,  amid  the  deafening  applause  of 
the  delighted  spectators. 

When  the  discomfited  jester  rose  to  his 
feet,  he  affected  a  bewilderment  that  was 


128  LIMBER  LEW. 

excessively  funny,  and  in  walking  vaguely 
about,  ran  smack  against  the  centre-pole. 

He  instantly  started  back,  paused  to 
look  questioningly  at  the  offending  ob 
struction  a  moment,  and  then  kicked  it, 
apparently  with  might  and  main.  On  the 
instant  his  mouth  assumed  the  shape  of 
the  letter  0,  his  forehead  was  wrinkled 
with  a  frightful  frown,  and  catching  the 
foot  in  his  hand,  he  hopped  about  upon 
the  other  as  if  he  had  fractured  all  his  toes. 

When  you  come  to  analyze  all  these  per 
formances,  most  adults  will  pronounce 
them  exceedingly  foolish,  but  no  boy  and 
none  of  the  audience  thought  so.  They  had 
come  there  to  be  amused,  and  there  was  no 
question  about  their  being  gratified. 

Finally,  the  clown  seemed  to  act  as  if 
he  had  decided  to  make  one  more  effort  to 
ride  the  refractory  creatures,  and  fixed  upon 
the  remaining  animal,  that  as  yet  was  un 
tried.  This  was  the  smallest  of  all  the 
others,  being  in  reality  a  dwarf,  so  that  he 
had  only  to  throw  one  leg  over  it  and  sit 
down.  This  he  did;  but  the  cunning  little 


IN  THE   RING.  129 

creature  took  a  couple  of  steps  forward,  and 
his  would-be  rider  came  down  with  a  bump 
upon  the  ground  instead. 

No  boy  ever  saw  any  one  attempt  to  sit 
in  a  chair,  and  miss  it,  without  laughing 
outright,  provided  the  victim  was  not 
injured  by  his  mishap,  and  it  is  not  nec 
essary  to  say  that  an  uproarous  outburst 
followed  this  slip. 

Once  more  the  jester  approached  the 
cunning  creature,  but  manifestly  with  great 
caution  and  misgiving.  Reaching  out,  he 
grasped  him  by  one  of  his  long  ears  with 
one  hand,  while  the  other  seized  his  tail. 

This  looked  as  if  he  could  hold  things 
steady  until  he  had  time  to  secure  his  seat, 
but  in  making  the  attempt,  he  seemed  to 
become  entangled  in  some  way,  and  slid 
off  as  often  as  he  got  on,  until  at  last  he 
secured  his  place,  but  it  was  reversed — 
his  back  being  toward  the  animal's  head. 
However,  he  held  fast  to  the  mule's  caudal 
appendage,  and  shouted  to  him  to  go  ahead 
— he  was  ready. 

The  creature  obeyed  orders,  going  around 


130  LIMBER   LEW. 

with  great  docility  until  he  had  made  sev 
eral  circuits;  then  he  paused,  placed  his 
nose  between  his  fore  legs,  and  threw  up 
his  heels  until  he  appeared  absolutely  per 
pendicular. 

That  ended  the  clown's  exhibition  of 
horsemanship,  and  after  picking  himself 
up,  he  walked  to  the  middle  of  the  ring, 
and  called  out  to  the  multitude: 

"How  shall  I  ride  them  'ere  mules? 
It's  a  conundrum  that  I  give  up.  If  there's 
any  man  that  thinks  he  can  do  it,  let  him 
come  out  and  try — that's  all  I've  got  to 
say." 

It  was  hardly  supposed  that,  after  such 
an  exhibition,  any  one  in  the  audience 
would  be  anxious  to  run  the  risk  of  getting 
his  neck  broken,  and  yet,  to  the  surprise 
of  all,  a  man  stepped  out  and  came  toward 
the  ring. 

He  was  dressed  in  dilapidated  garments, 
with  an  immense  stove-pipe  hat  jammed 
down  on  his  head,  trowsers  stuck  in  his 
boot-tops,  the  flapping  skirts  of  his  coat 
almost  reaching  the  ground,  and  he  carried 


IN   THE   RING.  131 

a  huge  umbrella  under  his  arm.  More 
than  this,  as  he  walked  forward,  his  gait 
was  so  uncertain  that  it  was  plain  to  all 
he  was  partly  intoxicated. 

Such    audiences    are    not    over-critical, 
or  very  aesthetic  in  their  tastes,  and  loud 
shouts  of  delight  went  up  from  the  hundreds 
as  they  saw   this  new  element  in  their 
amusement. 

The  clown  gravely  doffed  his  hat  and 
extended  his  hand,  by  way  of  salutation, 
as  he  approached,  and  conducting  him  to 
the  largest  mule,  went  through  the  form 
of  introducing  the  two. 

The  antics  of  the  man  were  laughable  in 
the  extreme,  if  one  could  lose  sight  of  the 
moral  sadness  in  the  sight  of  a  man  in  such 
a  maudlin  state. 

"Poor  man!  I  wonder  whether  he  has 
any  children  here?"  muttered  Lew,  the 
thought  coming  to  him  in  spite  of  the  sur 
roundings;  but  like  the  impressions  of 
childhood,  it  was  transitory,  and  gone  in  an 
instant,  and  he  turned  and  entered  into 
the  spirit  of  the  scene. 


132  LIMBER   LEW. 

Although  the  mule  seemed  very  docile, 
yet  the  man  had  no  sooner  mounted  him 
than  he  made  a  slight  flirt  of  his  heels, 
which  sent  him  tumbling  to  the  ground. 

The  clown  assisted  at  the  effort  to  re 
mount,  but  so  overdid  matters  that  he 
shoved  the  rider  over  the  other  side  upon 
the  ground  again. 

The  poor  fellow  showed  a  commendable 
perseverance,  and  at  last  seated  himself 
fairly,  only  to  be  thrown,  the  next  mo 
ment,  so  far  over  the  mule's  head  that 
more  than  one  person  believed  he  was  se 
riously  hurt,  although  the  laughter  was  not 
perceptibly  the  less;  but  he  came  up  again, 
apparently  unharmed,  and  there  were  many 
reminded  of  the  commonly-accepted  fact 
that  a  drunken  man  is  much  less  liable 
to  be  injured  from  a  fall  than  a  sober  one, 
as  his  muscles  are  more  lax  and  non-re 
sistant. 

The  clown  affected  great  solicitude  for 
the  welfare  of  the  horseman,  who  returned 
it  by  turning  furiously  about  and  giving 
him  several  kicks,  that  sent  him  skurrying 


IN  THE    RING.  133 

across  the  ring,  to  the  immeasurable  en 
joyment  of  the  audience,  intensified  by  the 
woful,  amazed  look  he  bestowed  upon  the 
man  who  had  served  him  in  that  unex 
pected  manner. 

He  made  no  attempt  to  retaliate,  for  it 
may  be  said  he  had  his  revenge  before 
hand. 

The  ground  and  lofty  tumbling  continued 
for  some  time  longer,  until  the  jaws  of 
everybody  were  aching  from  excessive 
laughter,  when  an  unexpected  change  took 
place. 

The  mule,  that  had  borne  so  prominent 
a  part  in  the  exhibition,  his  two  com 
panions  remaining  stationary  in  the  middle 
of  the  ring,  suddenly  stood  still,  and  the 
drunken  man,  to  the  amazement  of  all, 
staggered  to  his  feet  upon  the  back  of  the 
animal. 

The  next  second,  the  brute  bounded 
away  at  full  speed  around  the  circle,  his 
rider  still  maintaining  his  upright  posi 
tion. 

Suddenly  he  threw  off  his  flapping  coat, 


134  LIMBER   LEW. 

then  his  vest,  and  at  one  leap  he  went  out 
of  his  pantaloons,  boots  and  all,  which  were 
kicked  to  the  ground,  and  presto!  he  stood 
arrayed  in  the  spangled  uniform  of  a  cir 
cus  performer. 

All  semblance  of  intoxication  had  van 
ished,  and  the  graceful  athlete  saluted  the 
boisterous  audience,  and  amid  the  wildest 
enthusiasm,  proceeded  to  give  the  finest 
exhibition  of  horsemanship  of  the  even 
ing. 

The  whole  thing,  of  course,  was  pre 
arranged,  and  was  all  the  more  enjoyable 
from  its  complete  deception. 

The  cast-off  garments  were  flung  in  a 
heap  at  the  centre,  and  the  mule  galloped 
out  of  sight;  his  accomplished  rider  indulg 
ing  in  all  sorts  of  antics,  until  he  vanished. 

The  clown  was  still  left,  with  the  other 
two  animals,  and  he  now  invited  others  to 
come  forward  and  show  what  they  could 
do.  Girton  was  still  standing  in  front  of 
the  reserved  seats,  and  he  turned  and  beck 
oned  to  Lew  Fenwick,  who  advanced  at 
once  toward  the  ring. 


IN   THE   RING.  135 

"Hello,  Lew!  are  you  going  to  try  it? 
Blamed  if  I  don't,  too!" 

It  was  Billy  Huggins  who  called  to  him, 
and  he  and  another  boy  followed  after 
them.  Lew  held  back  a  little,  so  as  to 
allow  them  to  try  it  first.  The  jester  re 
ceived  the  two  very  graciously,  helped 
each  upon  his  steed,  and  then,  picking  up 
the  whip  of  the  ring-master,  gave  it  a  series 
of  flirts,  which  caused  the  lash  to  snap  like 
the  reports  of  fire-crackers. 

Away  went  both  animals  on  a  gallop 
around  the  circle,  the  clown  following  and 
using  his  whip  more  vigorously  than  ever  in 
the  air,  while  both  boys  kept  their  places 
with  all  the  ease  imaginable. 

"Who  can't  do  this?"  called  out  Billy, 
proud  of  his  own  skill.  "I  always  could 
ride  any  horse  in  the  country,  and  any 
feller  that  can't  stick  to  an  old  mule  is  a 
big  fool.  It's  just  as  easy  as — " 

Billy  had  reached  this  point  in  his  gen 
eral  observations,  when  he  discovered,  in 
stead  of  being  upon  the  back  of  the  long 
eared  quadruped,  he  had  bumped  upon  the 


136  LIMBER   LEW. 

ground,  and  as  he  tried  to  rise,  his  com 
panion  came  pitching  over  him. 

"What  made  that  mule  tumble  over?" 
he  asked,  composedly,  as  he  got  up  and 
looked  around,  no  one  able  to  hear  his 
words  amid  the  deafening  tumult  that 
fairly  made  the  canvas  tremble. 

He  was  not  hurt,  for  there  was  an  abund 
ance  of  sawdust;  but  as  soon  as  he  could 
collect  his  senses,  he  noted  that  neither  of 
the  animals  was  down.  They  were  stand 
ing  motionless,  and  as  demure  as  lambs, 
awaiting  the  next  change  in  the  pro 
gramme. 

"I  think  I've  got  enough  of  that,"  said 
the  other  boy,  understanding  the  trick 
that  had  been  played  on  him.  "Them 
ain't  the  kind  of  mules  I  want  to  ride." 

And  disregarding  the  coaxings  of  the 
clown,  and  his  assurance  that  he  could  do 
better  next  time,  the  lad  ran  back  among 
the  audience. 

"You  ain't  scared,  are  you?"  he  asked, 
approaching  Billy,  who  was  a  little  un 
certain  of  what  was  best  to  do. 


IN  THE   RING.  137 

"No,  I  ain't  scared  a  bit,  only  a  little 
afraid,"  he  replied.  "I'll  try  it  again,  and 
see  whether  I  can  hold  on  tighter.  Just 
give  me  a  boost  on  t'other  mule,  will  you? 
I  think  I  can  manage  him  better  than  the 
one  that  fell  with  me." 

The  clown  gladly  did  as  requested,  and 
Billy  was  quickly  placed  astride  of  him. 
Precisely  the  same  performance  was  re 
peated,  the  urchin  being  thrown  with  such 
ease  that  he  became  convinced  it  was  use 
less  for  him  to  make  any  further  trials  at 
managing  such  cunning  creatures;  and  he, 
too,  ran  back  and  joined  the  throng  of 
spectators. 

"Well,  sonny,"  said  the  funny  man, 
addressing  Lew,  who  all  this  time  had  been 
carefully  studying  the  way  the  thing  was 
done,  "do  you  want  to  show  the  people 
how  well  you  can  ride?" 

"I  don't  mind  trying  it,"  he  replied. 

"All  right!  Come  ahead,  and  I'll  help 
you  aboard." 

The  next  minute,  Limber  Lew  was  astride 
of  one  of  the  mules. 


138  LIMBER  LEW. 


CHAPTER  X. 

"TO  BE,  OR  NOT  TO  BE." 

MEN,  women  and  children  had  laughed 
until  they  were  tired,  and  when  Lew 
Fenwick  advanced  from  the  audi 
ence,  and  was  helped  upon  the  back  of  one 
of  the  tricky  mules,  there  was  a  general 
feeling  of  indifference,  for  they  believed  the 
performances  were  to  be  repeated,  and  they 
wished  a  change  of  programme. 

There  were  a  number  who  recognized  the 
youngster,  and  knowing  his  skill  and  activ 
ity,  believed  he  would  make  a  better  exhi 
bition  of  horsemanship  than  any  of  the 
others — a  prospect  which  lessened  the  plea 
sure,  of  anticipation,  as  the  fun  of  the  whole 
thing  was  the  ease  with  which  the  riders 
were  thrown.  The  spectators  did  not  con 
ceive  it  possible  that  any  one  could  main 
tain  himself  upon  the  brutes. 

The  few  minutes  spent  by  Limber  Lew  as 


"TO   BE,    OR  NOT  TO    BE."  139 

an  observer  had  been  improved,  and  he 
gained  a  point  or  two.  He  selected  the 
smallest  mule  of  the  three,  and  when  he 
found  himself  on  his  back,  discovered,  as  he 
had  expected,  that  he  could  fo  -ce  his  heels 
underneath  his  belly  far  enough  to  hold 
himself  in  his  position.  This  was  all  he 
wanted. 

Fixing  himself  in  place,  he  took  up  the 
reins,  and  said  to  the  clown: 

"Go  ahead,  and  do  your  best." 

A  ringing  crack  from  the  whip,  and  the 
little  mule  started  off  on  a  trot  around  the 
circle,  his  gait  speedily  becoming  a  gallop, 
the  jester  still  snapping  the  lash,  and  fol 
lowing  on  the  inner  and  smaller  circle. 

The  spectators  had  settled  into  a  quiet, 
expectant  mood,  their  eyes  fixed  upon  the 
mule  and  his  rider,  awaiting  impatiently  the 
"  catastrophe." 

Suddenly  the  animal  planted  all  four  feet 
on  the  ground,  as  rigid  and  stiff  as  those  of 
his  brother  in  the  Andes  when  he  slides  down 
the  rocky  descent.  The  stoppage  of  his 
speed  was  instantaneous,  and  according  to 


140  LIMBER  LEW. 

all  the  rules  of  mechanics,  Lew  Fenwick 
should  have  gone  tumbling  over  his  head; 
but  he  did  not.  He  was  prepared,  and  he 
held  his  place  on  his  back  as  firmly  as  if  he 
were  bound  like  Mazeppa. 

The  hundreds  who  were  gazing  at  him 
appreciated  his  skill,  and  a  general  clapping 
of  hands  showed  that  he  had  their  sym 
pathies. 

The  clown  was  perhaps  the  most  sur 
prised  of  all,  for  he  had  never  yet  seen  this 
diminutive  pet  fail  in  flinging  any  boy  from 
his  back. 

"The  Prince,"  he  said  to  himself,  allud 
ing  to  his  favorite  animal,  "must  have  made 
a  slight  miscalculation.  He'll  fetch  him 
next  time." 

No  doubt  the  quadruped  himself  was 
mystified,  with  the  others,  when  he  found 
that,  after  all,  he  still  had  a  boy  on  his  back ; 
and  he  galloped  away  again,  at  a  greater 
speed  than  before. 

Lew  knew  what  was  coming,  and  kept 
himself  rigidly  braced  and  prepared. 

Presently  the  same  thing  was  repeated, 


"TO    BE,  OB  NOT   TO  BE."  141 

the  lad  maintaining  himself  with  ease, 
while  Girton,  the  circus  man,  led  the 
overwhelming  applause. 

"The  mule  has  his  master  at  last!" 
exclaimed  hundreds  to  their  neighbors. 
"There's  a  younker  that  knows  how  to 
ride." 

The  clown,  convinced  that  the  lad  was 
unusually  skillful,  walked  forward  and 
patted  him  encouragingly  on  the  back. 

"Keep  it  up,  Johnny,  and  look  out,  for 
he's  going  to  take  you  on  another  tack." 

Prince  made  no  further  attempt  to  dis 
mount  his  rider  by  sudden  stoppages. 
Two  trials  convinced  him  of  the  futility  of 
that  method,  and  he  took  another  course. 
Trotting  to  the  centre  of  the  ring,  he  whirled 
rapidly  around,  something  like  a  dozen 
times.  The  result  of  this,  as  a  rule,  was 
that,  whoever  was  on  his  back,  became  so 
bewildered  and  dizzy  that  he  was  easily  dis 
placed. 

Lew  saw  things  mixed  and  blurred  for  a 
minute  or  two,  but  quickly  rallied,  and 
stood  it  as  well  as  the  beast. 


142  LIMBER  LEW. 

The  applause  that  followed  this  was 
"vociferous,"  and  nerved  the  boy  to  do  his 
utmost. 

The  mule  now  reared  upon  his  hind  legs, 
standing  for  an  instant  almost  perpendicu 
lar  ;  but  Lew  threw  one  arm  about  his  neck 
and  held  himself  from  sliding  off. 

Then  the  beast  elevated  his  hind  quarters, 
balancing  upon  his  fore  feet,  and  the  young 
ster  had  all  he  could  do  to  save  himself ;  but 
by  bracing  his  legs  and  arms,  and  making 
his  body  as  rigid  as  iron,  he  succeeded. 

Again  the  mule  reared,  and  Lew  played  a 
trick  that  made  him  his  master.  When  the 
mule  was  poised,  as  it  may  be  said,  upon 
his  hind  legs,  Lew  threw  his  arm  beneath 
his  throat,  and  gave  the  animal  such  a  jerk 
that  he  fell  over  backward.  As  the  boy 
did  this  on  purpose,  he  was  prepared  for  the 
fall,  and  bounded  out  of  the  way  in  time  to 
save  himself. 

The  animal  was  scared  at  what  had  taken 
place.  It  doesn't  take  such  a  creature  long 
to  learn  that  he  has  met  his  master;  and 
when  he  scrambled  (as  it  may  be  described) 


"TO    BE,   OR  NOT  TO    BE."  143 

to  his  feet,  and  the  boy  leaped  upon  his  back 
again,  he  was  thoroughly  subdued. 

In  obedience  to  the  snapping  of  the 
clown's  whip,  he  cantered  around  the  ring 
several  times,  bearing  his  youthful  rider,  but 
he  made  no  attempt  to  displace  him,  even 
though  the  jester  gave  him  several  perempt 
ory  signals  to  do  so;  and  finally  he  turned 
and  trotted  out  of  the  ring,  Lew  springing 
off,  and  walking  toward  his  seat. 

The  applause  that  followed  his  victory 
was  enough  to  turn  the  head  of  an  older 
person.  Everywhere  hands  were  clapping, 
youngsters  were  shouting,  men  swung  their 
hats,  and  rose  to  their  feet,  to  catch  a 
glimpse  of  the  boy  that  had  conquered  the 
trained  mule,  and  beat  him  at  his  own  game. 

"Who  is  he?  who  is  he?"  was  asked  here 
and  there,  and  they  who  knew  the  lad  were 
kept  busy  answering  and  disseminating 
their  knowledge,  until  every  hun^an  being 
under  the  canvas  knew  that  it  was  the  only 
son  of  Judge  Fenwick  that  had  performed 
the  remarkable  exploit. 

All  this  time,  Lew  Fenwick  was  doing  his 


144  LIMBER   LEW. 

best  to  shrink  back  from  observation.  His 
face  was  flushed,  his  heart  thumped,  and  he 
was  drinking  in  for  the  first  time  the  intoxi 
cating  and  dangerous  nectar  of  applause. 

There  was  something  sweet  in  it,  and  it 
seemed  to  him,  while  his  ears  were  filled 
with  the  cheering  and  shouting  and  hurrah 
ing,  that  there  were  lengths  and  depths  of 
human  happiness  of  which,  as  yet,  he  had 
not  even  dreamed ;  and  he  was  certain,  too, 
that  the  most  blissful  existence  in  this 
world  was  that  of  a  circus-performer,  who 
could  breathe  and  live  upon  such  applause 
all  his  life. 

It  is  at  such  critical  periods  in  boyhood, 
that  he  who  steps  in  and  paints  truth  as  it 
is,  against  the  wild  fancies  that  the  imma 
ture  imagination  conjures  up,  becomes  the 
real  guardian  angel  of  youth.  It  should  be 
in  the  form  of  father  or  mother,  or  both,  and 
happy  is  he  to  whom  heaven  has  given  such 
parents — those  who  can  comprehend  the 
temptations  to  which  boys  and  girls  are  ex 
posed,  and  who  can  enter  into  their  sympa 
thies,  and  gird  them  around,  as  it  were, 


"TO    BE,   OR  NOT  TO  BE."  145 

with  an  impenetrable  armor  of  self-restraint 
and  a  firm  adherence  to  the  straight  and 
narrow  path. 

Alas !  that  Lew  Fenwick  had  none  to  draw 
him  aside  from  the  fascinating  avenue  that 
was  opening  before  him. 

There  still  remained  one  performance  to 
complete  the  evening's  entertainment.  This 
was  an  exhibition  of  tight-rope  walking, 
and  of  exploits  upon  the  trapeze.  Senorita 
Adualina  always  established  herself  as  a 
favorite  upon  sight,  and  when  she  twice 
walked  back  and  forth  upon  a  narrow  rope 
or  wire,  stretched  far  above  the  heads  of  all, 
it  seemed  as  if  the  larger  part  of  the  audi 
ence  could  not  be  restrained  from  rushing 
forward  and  overwhelming  her  with  con 
gratulations. 

The  young  man  who  did  the  trapeze  busi 
ness,  in  a  very  creditable  manner,  was  liber 
ally  applauded ;  and  the  performance,  when 
it  closed,  was  a  satisfactory  one  in  every 
respect.  The  immense  crowd  slowly  filed 
out,  and  the  spectators  scattered  to  their 
homes. 


146  LIMBER   LEW. 

Lew  was  alone,  and  without  pausing  to 
exchange  words  with  his  friend  George 
Girton,  he  started  up  the  road,  walking  so 
rapidly  that  he  speedily  left  behind  the  large 
number  whose  destination  led  them  some 
distance  in  the  same  direction. 

"They  have  made  me  an  offer,"  he  mut 
tered  to  himself,  as  he  recalled  the  words  that 
had  been  said  to  him,  "  and  all  I've  got  to  do 
is  to  join  them.  I  can  do  a  good  many  of  their 
tricks  now,  and  with  a  little  training,  I  would 
be  as  good  as  the  best,  excepting,  maybe,  that 
little  beauty  they  call  Senorita  Adualina.  I 
would  get  good  wages,  wouldn't  have  any 
more  hard  lessons  to  learn,  no  danger  of  being 
whipped  by  Old  Gibbs,  and  then  catching  it 
worse  when  I  went  home.  I  could  then  take 
care  of  myself,  and  would  soon  be  a  man  like 
the  rest  of  them.  I've  heard  them  say  that 
circus  fellows  lead  a  pretty  rough  life,  but 
then  those  that  can  do  as  well  as  I,  don't 
suffer.  It's  the  poor  fellows,  like  Billy 
Huggins,  that  can  never  learn  to  turn  a 
somersault  without  landing  on  his  head. 
I'm  sure  it  would  be  different  with  me." 


"TO    BE,   OB  NOT  TO  BE,"  147 

He  walked  a  short  distance  further  in 
silence,  but  his  mind  was  busy,  and  he 
could  think  of  little  or  nothing  excepting 
what  he  had  seen,  and  the  great  step  in  his 
life  that  he  was  debating  whether  he  should 
take. 

"I  hate  the  notion  of  running  away  from 
father/'  he  continued,  as  he  listened  for  a 
moment  to  the  whisperings  of  conscience. 
"He  uses  me  pretty  rough,  but  I  never  can 
dislike  him,  no  matter  what  he  should  do. 
Mother  I  neither  dislike  nor  love ;  she  seems 
to  me  like  the  wood-box  in  the  kitchen. 
I  never  would  know  she  is  about  if  I  didn't 
run  against  her  now  and  then.  If  my  own 
mother  hadn't  died,  I  never  would  have 
crawled  out  of  the  window  and  run  off  to 
the  circus.  She  would  have  made  father 
let  me  go,  or  if  he  wasn't  willing,  or  she 
didn't  think  it  best,  I  would  have  rather 
stayed  with  her,  and  had  her  read  to  me,  or 
tell  me  some  nice  story,  than  have  gone  to 
all  the  circuses  in  the  world ;  but  she  is  gone 
—yes,  gone—" 

The  poor  fellow  broke  down  at  this  point, 


148  LIMBER   LEW. 

and  looking  about  in  the  gloom  to  make 
sure  no  one  heard  him,  he  sobbed  harder 
than  all  the  whippings  of  the  teacher  could 
compel  him  to  do.  She  who  had  been  a 
mother  to  him  in  every  sense  of  the  word  was 
gone,  and  never,  never  could  she  be  replaced. 

By-and-by,  he  mastered  his  grief,  and 
drifted  back  to  the  question  whether  or  not 
he  should  run  away  from  home  and  join  the 
circus.  He  could  conjure  up  no  reason  why 
he  should  not  leave,  and  yet  it  was  hard  to 
make  up  his  mind. 

"I'll  have  to  wait  till  after  I  say  my 
prayers,  and  I've  had  time  to  dream  over 
it,"  he  added,  as  he  drew  near  his  home. 
"I  think  I'll  go,  but  I'll  see  how  things 
shape  to-rnorrow,  I  won't  start  before  to 
morrow  night,  any  way." 

As  he  moved  on,  the  great  question  was 
whether  his  absence  had  been  discovered. 
Instead  of  approaching  through  the  gate  in 
the  usual  way,  he  cautiously  passed  beyond 
it,  determined  not  to  be  detected  through 
any  negligence  of  his  own.  He  could  see 
nothing  of  any  light. 


"TO  BE,  OR   NOT  TO   BE."  149 

"It  must  be  near  eleven  o'clock,"  he 
mused,  as  he  paused  under  the  shadow  of 
one  of  the  trees,  "and  I  suppose  all  have 
gone  to  bed.  Mother  is  dreaming  about 
her  new  silk  dress,  and  father  is  thinking 
over  court  matters,  or  else  is  sorry  because 
he  didn't  whip  me  a  little  harder — " 

Bow-wow!  There  was  a  sudden  rush, 
and  the  bull-dog  came  down  upon  him  with 
a  rush. 

Lew  had  hardly  time  to  make  himself 
known,  and  to  escape  being  rended  by  the 
savage  animal,.  The  instant  he  spoke, 
however,  he  was  recognized,  and  the  feroc 
ity  of  the  dog  was  turned  to  demonstrative 
affection.  It  was  all  he  could  do  to  keep  the 
canine  from  knocking  him  over  in  his  extra 
vagant  joy  at  meeting  him. 

"Behave  yourself,  Samson!"  he  said  in  a 
suppressed  voice.  "Keep  still,  or  I'll  give 
you  a  kick. 

The  dog  was  finally  persuaded  to  abate  his 
demonstrations,  when  the  lad  continued  his 
reconnoissance,  gradually  nearing  the  house, 
round  which  he  walked  two  or  three  times. 


150  LIMBER   LEW. 

All  was  still  as  the  tomb,  and  he  had  not 
caught  a  single  ray  of  light,  so  there  was 
little  doubt  but  those  within  were  sunk  in 
heavy  slumber. 

At  first  he  feared  that  there  might 
be  some  assumption  in  this,  with  in 
tent  to  entrap  him;  but  reflection  satis 
fied  him  that  it  was  not  likely  the  judge 
would  descend  to  any  such  device  when  he 
must  have  felt  certain  he  could  reach  him 
whenever  he  chose. 

Pausing  by  the  edge  of  the  building,  the 
lad  could  see  that  his  window  was  still  open, 
just  as  he  had  left  it.  All  was  dark  within, 
and  as  all  was  enveloped  in  shadow,  he  saw 
everything  dimly. 

"It  would  be  funny  if  he  was  waiting  up 
there  to  grab  me,  as  I  went  in, "  he  muttered 
as  he  tried  to  pierce  the  gloom;  "but  then  I 
don't  know  as  there  would  be  anything  so 
funny  about  it,  either." 

As  there  seemed  nothing  to  gain  by 
waiting,  he  began  climbig  the  spout.  This 
would  have  been  very  difficult  to  ordinary 
persons,  but  he  ascended  it  without  trouble, 


"TO  BE,   OR  NOT  TO  BE."  151 

his  only  anxiety  lest  the  slight  noise  and 
scratching  he  made  should  attract  the 
attention  of  those  within.  If  anything 
gave  way,  he  had  no  fear  of  being  hurt  by 
the  fall,  only  the  fracture  of  the  pipe  would 
be  pretty  certain  to  result  in  his  detection. 

Finally,  the  window  was  reached,  and  he 
crept  into  his  own  room. 

He  had  scarcely  done  so,  when  there  was 
a  sharp  rap  on  the  outside,  and  his  heart 
rose  in  his  mouth.  All  was  lost,  he  believed. 

" Lewis,  do  you  hear  me?" 

It  was  his  father's  voice,  and  permitting 
him  to  call  him  several  times,  the  lad  finally 
answered,  with  a  yawn,  as  if  he  were  just 
awaking  from  sleep. 

"Heigho!  what's  the  matter?" 

"I  thought  I  heard  a  suspicious  noise, 
Have  you  noticed  anything  of  it?" 

"No,  sir." 

And  his  parent  went  away  again. 


152  LIMBER  LEW. 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE  GATHERING  STORM. 

JUDGE    Fenwick  was  driving  leisurely 
along  on  the  morrow,  after  the  incidents 
we  have  given,  his  destination  being  a 
neighboring  town,  where  he  had  some  legal 
matters  to  look  after.     The  day  was  quite 
warm,  and  his  horse  jogged  forward  at  such 
a  moderate  pace  that  it  was  near  noon 
when  he  reached  the  conference,  and  he  re 
mained  to  dinner. 

When  the  business  which  had  brought 
the  men  together  was  completed,  the 
gentlemen  naturally  fell  to  conversing  about 
other  matters — matters  which  bordered 
very  much  upon  gossip,  and  would  so  be 
termed  if  discussed  by  the  other  sex. 

"I  can  tell  you,  judge,  that's  a  pretty 
smart  boy  you've  got,"  remarked  one  of 
these  men,  as  they  sauntered  out  upon  the 
cool  piazza. 


THE   GATHERING   STORM.  153 

"Well,  yes;  I  think  he  can  hold  his  own, " 
replied  the  judge,  who  took  the  compliment 
much  as  he  would  if  applied  to  his  horse. 

"I  don't  think  that  performance  of  his 
last  night  could  be  improved  upon. " 

"What  was  that?"  asked  the  parent,  con 
siderably  mystified  at  the  words. 

"Why,  didn't  he  tell  you  anything  about 
his  riding  the  mules?" 

Not  a  word." 

"That  makes  me  like  him  better  than 
ever.  There  would  have  been  some  excuse 
for  his  boasting  over  such  an  achievement, 
but  he  hasn't  said  a  word  about  it  to  any 
body.  It  was  a  little  the  cutest  thing  I 
ever  saw." 

"You  haven't  explained  it,"  reminded 
his  listener. 

Thereupon  the  gentleman  proceeded  to 
relate  the  particulars  of  the  exploit  of 
Lew  Fenwick,  in  mastering  the  trained 
mule,  which  no  one  else  among  the  specta 
tors  was  able  to  ride.  He  became  very 
eloquent,  and  as  the  judge  listened  with 
an  immobile  countenance,  he  concluded 


154  LIMBER  LEW. 

that  he  was  highly  delighted  with  the 
narration. 

"You  saw  all  this  yourself?"  asked  his 
hearer,  looking  him  in  the  face. 

"Certainly,  I  did." 

"I  understand  you  to  say  you  were  there, 
and  were  near  my  son,  so  there  could  be  no 
mistake  about  his  identity?" 

"Of  course — of  course!  You  see," 
added  his  friend,  with  a  hollow,  apologetic 
smile,  such  as  nine  parents  out  of  ten  give, 
when  questioned  in  the  same  way,  "I  prom 
ised  the  children,  some  time  ago,  that  if 
they  made  good  progress  in  their  studies,  I 
would  take  them  to  see  the  first  menagerie 
that  came  along.  I  didn't  say  anything 
about  a  circus,  and  in  fact  was  not  aware 
that  it  had  any  of  the  characteristics  of  a 
circus,  until  I  was  actually  within  the  place, 
and  it  was  too  late  to  withdraw.  I  could 
not  resist  the  entreaties  of  the  children, 
although — " 

"Never  mind  about  the  entreaties  of  the 
children,"  interrupted  his  listener,  im 
patiently.  "You  say  you  saw  my  son 


THE  GATHERING  STORM.  155 

Lewis  ride  one  of  those  mules  at  the  circus 
last  night?" 

"  Yes,  sir." 

" That's  all  I  want  to  know,"  said  the 
judge  as  he  walked  out  of  the  gate,  en 
tered  his  carriage  and  drove  away. 

"I'll  be  hanged  if  I  understand  how  the 
Judge  takes  it!"  remarked  the  man  with 
whom  he  had  held  the  conversation,  speak 
ing  to  one  of  those  left  behind.  "It  looks 
to  me  as  if  I  had  stirred  up  a  hornet's  nest, 
for  I  guess  the  old  fellow  didn't  know  any 
thing  about  his  boy  being  at  the  circus. 
Strange,  how  queer  some  folks  are.  Now, 
I  wouldn't  begrudge  a  good  many  dollars  if 
one  of  my  boys  could  do  so  smart  a  thing 
as  that,  and  here  the  Judge  looks  as  mad 
as  boiled  thunder  and  lightening.  Well,  he 
always  was  rather  high-toned,  and  I  suppose 
there  is  where  the  shoe  pinches." 

In  the  meantime,  Judge  Fenwick  was 
driving  homeward,  at  a  somewhat  faster 
gait  than  usual,  for  he  was  angry.  Nothing 
that  had  occurred  for  years  so  disturbed 
his  feelings  as  that  which  he  had  learned 


156  LIMBER  LEW. 

within  the  last  hour.  The  thought  that 
his  son,  whom  he  supposed  to  be  soundly 
sleeping  in  bed  the  whole  evening,  was  in  a 
circus  ring,  winning  the  laughter  and  ap 
plause  of  the  gaping  multitude  by  his 
rivalry  with  the  clown — this  reflection  was 
galling  and  the  anger  of  the  old  gentleman 
can  well  be  understood. 

"I  am  afraid  that  boy  will  never  amount 
to  anything,"  he  muttered,  compressing 
his  lips.  "I've  whipped  him  again  and 
again,  and  where  is  the  good  it  has  done?" 

While  he  was  at  it,  it  would  have  been 
well  had  he  paused  to  ask  how  things 
would  have  resulted  had  he  used  the  rod 
less  and  love  more;  but  his  train  of  thought 
was  different. 

"I'm  to  be  blamed,  because  I  have  not 
been  severe  enough  with  him.  Some 
times  two  or  three  days  have  passed  with 
out  his  being  punished  more  than  once,  and 
I've  used  the  same  raw-hide  until  it  has 
become  frayed  and  is  not  half  effective. " 

At  the  principal  store  in  Birmingham  he 
tied  his  horse,  and  bought  the  largest  raw- 


THE   GATHERING  STORM.  157 

hide  in  the  place.  Its  length  and  propor 
tions  were  such  that  the  merchant  sup 
posed  it  was  for  his  horse. 

All  treated  the  distinguished  legal  gentle 
man  with  respect,  for  he  was  looked  upon 
with  awe  by  his  neighbors. 

Those  who  were  idling  about  the  store 
saluted  him  in  military  fashion  as  he  came 
in;  and  the  merchant  himself,  presuming 
somewhat  on  more  intimate  relations,  be 
cause  he  sold  him  groceries,  walked  out 
to  his  carriage  with  him. 

He  was  desirous  of  saying  something  to 
please  his  distinguished  visitor,  and  he  was 
sure  he  did  it  when  he  remarked : 

"  Every  body  in  town  to-day  is  talking 
about  your  boy  Lew,  and  the  way  he  got 
the  best  of  that  mule  at  the  circus,  last 
night.  You  must  let  him  come  again  to 
night,  Judge,  for  a  great  many  are  going  there 
on  purpose  to  see  him  perform.  I  would 
like  to  see  you  there  yourself,  for  I  think 
you  would  feel  proud  of  him." 

Judge  Fenwick  made  no  reply,  but  never 
came  so  near  indulging  in  profanity  in  his  life. 


158  LIMBER   LEW. 

"What  clowns  these  people  are!"  he 
muttered.  "They  rush  out  to  tell  me  of 
the  disgraceful  act  of  my  child,  and  think 
it  is  something  I  should  feel  proud  over. 
The  next  thing  I  should  do  is  to  put  him  in 
the  employ  of  these  men.  That  would  be 
more  honorable  in  their  eyes,  than  to  pre 
pare  him  to  follow  in  my  footstps.  Oh,  the 
rascal!"  he  added,  gnashing  his  teeth.  "I 
know  what  that  noise  was  I  heard  last 
night.  It  was  he  climbing  in  the  window. 
What  a  wretch  he  is  getting  to  be !  I  shall 
give  him  a  punishment  such  as  he  will 
remember  all  his  life,  and  then,  if  that  fails 
to  make  a  change,  he  shall  be  turned  out  of 
the  house.  I  shall  not  permit  him  to  dis 
grace  the  name  of  Fenwick." 

These  were  no  idle  threats.  He  meant 
them,  and  it  would  have  required  only 
another  feather  to  make  him  carry  them 
out. 

0  Strange  that  his  mother  seems  to 
have  so  little  influence  over  him!"  he 
muttered,  as  he  mentally  contrasted  his 
second  with  his  first  wife.  "When  Inez 


THE  GATHERING  STORM.  159 

was  alive,  I  was  never  called  in  to  in 
terfere  in  the  way  of  discipline.  Now  it 
is  left  entirely  to  me,  and  I  will  answer 
the  demand!"  he  exclaimed,  giving  the 
reins  a  spiteful  jerk,  that  sent  the  horse 
jogging  forward  at  a  more  rapid  rate  than 
usual. 

When  he  reached  home,  the  afternoon 
was  about  half  gone,  and  it  was  too  soon 
for  the  return  of  his  son.  So,  after  giving 
his  horse  to  the  servant,  he  passed  to 
the  rear  of  the  house,  to  examine  the 
traces  left  by  Lew  in  climbing  up  to  the 
window.  They  were  plainly  seen,  so  not 
another  particle  of  proof  was  needed. 

As  several  hours  yet  remained  at  his 
disposal,  he  went  into  his  library,  paying 
no  attention  to  the  affectionate  greeting 
of  his  wife.  He  was  moody  and  ill-tem 
pered,  and  after  a  draught  of  brandy, 
he  took  a  law  book,  and  endeavored  to 
interest  himself;  but  the  liquor  he  had 
swallowed  befogged  his  brain,  and  he 
dropped  asleep,  never  waking  until  the 
tea-bell  sounded  at  half-past  six.  Then 


160  LIMBER   LEW. 

he  roused  up  and  joined  his  wife  at  the 
table. 

"Where  is  that  boy?"  he  demanded, 
looking  around  him. 

"I  have  seen  nothing  of  him  since 
dinner,"  replied  Mrs.  Fenwick. 

"What!  hasn't  he  come  home  yet?" 
'  I  am  afraid  not,  dear." 

"Why  don't  you  teach  him  to  do 
better?"  angrily  demanded  the  husband. 
"He's  the  worst  boy  in  the  neighborhood, 
and  his  mother  is  a  good  deal  to  blame 
for  it." 

It  was  a  cruel  remark,  when  all  the 
circumstances  are  considered,  and  the  con 
sequences  might  have  been  anticipated. 
Mrs.  Fenwick  burst  into  sobs,  and  as 
the  Judge  made  no  attempt  to  soothe 
her,  she  left  the  table  to  finish  her  cry 
in  her  room,  and  to  meditate  about  going 
home  to  her  mother,  who  would  not  treat 
her  like  a  brute. 

When  Judge  Fenwick  passed  into  his 
library  again,  it  was  so  dark  that  he  lit 
his  lamp  and  sat  down,  crosser  than  ever. 


THE  GATHERING  STORM.  161 

''That  scamp  has  run  away  to  the  circus 
again,"  he  muttered,  "but  he  will  not 
fool  me  this  time.  I  will  sit  up  all  night 
and  watch  for  him,  and  will  teach  him 
such  a  lesson  that  he  will  never  dare  cross 
my  will  again. 

Just  then  there  was  a  sharp  rap  on 
the  library  door,  and  supposing  it  to 
be  his  wife,  he  refused  to  answer  until 
the  summons  was  repeated.  Then  he  called 
out,  rather  testily : 

"Why  don't  you  come  in?" 

The  door  was  shoved  open,  and  Captain 
Rudolph  Reynolds  bade  him  good  evening, 
and  entered. 

"Ah,  captain!  I  didn't  know  it  was 
you.  I  beg  pardon.  Pray  be  seated!" 

His  visitor,  who  was  a  courteous  gen 
tleman — a  man  of  culture  and  refinement — 
did  not  notice  the  apology,  but  shook 
hands  with  his  host  and  helped  himself 
to  a  seat. 

The  judge  rather  liked  him;  for,  be 
sides,  having  traveled  extensively,  he  had 
observed  and  read  much,  and  when  he 


162  LIMBER  LEW. 

chose  was  most  entertaining  company; 
but  neither  was  in  the  mood  to  enjoy 
pointless  conversation  this  evening. 

After  some  unimportant  remarks,  and 
mutual  inquiries  about  each  other's  fami 
lies,  the  captain  said : 

"Mrs.  Reynolds  called  upon  Mrs.  Fen- 
wick  to-day  to  thank  her  for  the  inesti 
mable  service  your  boy  did  us  yesterday, 
and  I  have  felt  that  it  was  no  more  than 
my  duty  to  do  the  same  with  you.  A 
lad  who  has  saved  the  life  of  our  darling 
child — the  only  one  that  is  now  left  to 
us — does  a  deed  for  which  it  is  idle  to 
hope  to  find  words  to  express  our  feelings. " 

"I  haven't  heard  the  particulars,"  said 
the  judge,  rather  coldly. 

"Is  it  possible!  I  supposed  he  would 
have  told  you  about  it  himself. " 

"He  began  some  monkey  yarn  last 
evening,  but  I  checked  him  because  it 
was  plain  he  was  only  doing  it  to  divert 
me  from  my  duty  of  punishing  him. " 

"Excuse  me,  but  may  I  inquire  for 
what  he  was  whipped?" 


THE   GATHERING   STORM.  163 

"It  is  an  invariable  rule  with  me  to 
duplicate  the  punishment  he  receives  at 
school." 

Captain  Reynolds  was  a  man  of  strong 
temper.  It  was  hard  for  him  to  forget 
the  courtesy  due  from  one  gentleman  to 
another;  and  he  concealed  his  anger,  which 
was  none  the  less  genuine. 

"Do  you  consider  it  good  law  to  punish 
a  criminal  twice  for  the  same  offense, 
especially  when  he  hasn't  committed  any 
offense  at  all'?' 

"I  do  not  understand  you,  sir." 

"In  the  first  place,  Abijah  Gibbs,  the 
teacher,  is  a  brute,  who  is  no  more  fit 
to  teach  children  than  he  is  to  preside 
in  the  court-room.  He  loves  to  torture 
them,  and  he  whipped  your  boy  yesterday 
out  of  pure  devilishness.  The  lad  acci 
dentally  fell  into  the  water,  and  the  teacher 
knew  the  little  fellow  was  as  undeserving 
of  punishment  as  you  or  I.  If  that  lamp 
on  the  table  should  explode  and  kill  me, 
there  would  be  just  as  much  justice  in 
hanging  you  for  murder." 


164  LIMBER   LEW. 

"How  is  it  you  know  so  much  of  the 
particulars  of  this  case,  captain?" 

"I  learned  them  from  unquestionable 
authority." 

The  captain  did  not  say  that  his  author 
ity  was  Lew  Fenwick  himself,  but  so  it 
was,  and  it  was  none  the  less  unquestion 
able  for  that. 

"Yes  I  speak  what  I  know,"  he  con 
tinued,  "and  on  the  top  of  that,  he  re 
ceives  the  same  punishment  at  your 
hands  when  he  comes  home.  There's  a 
double  dose  of  the  cruelest  kind  of  in 
justice.  Let  me  tell  you  what  your  boy  did 
yesterday." 

And  thereupon  the  caller  related  in 
his  own  graphic  language  the  scene  of 
the  rescue  of  his  child  at  the  risk  of  the 
rescuer's  life. 

"That's  what  I  call  the  truest  kind 
of  bravery,"  he  continued;  "the  more 
wonderful  because  it  is  discouraged  both 
at  school  and  at  home. " 

Judge  Fenwick  flushed.  He  was  not 
accustomed  to  such  language  from  any 


THE    GATHERING    STORM.  165 

one,  nor  had  he  ever  heard  it  except 
from  his  first  wife. 

"Are  you  aware,  sir,  that  you  are  using 
very  strange  words  to  me?" 

"I  am  aware  that  I  am  speaking  the 
truth — an  article  so  scarce  in  these  days 
that  we  need  it  now  and  then.  To  con 
tinue;  your  boy  called  at  our  house  this  noon 
to  learn  whether  our  baby  was  suffering 
any  from  her  fall.  You  know  how  much 
we  think  of  Lew,  and  we  made  him  sit 
down,  while  my  wife  filled  him  with  delica 
cies,  and  let  him  fondle  the  baby,  and 
I  gave  him  a  tune  or  two  on  my  violin, 
and  I  told  him  an  adventure  of  mine  in 
Africa,  and  when  he  came  to  go,  behold  it 
was  school  time.  I  wrote  him  a  note 
to  hand  to  his  teacher,  explaining  the 
cause  of  his  tardiness;  and  although  he 
delivered  it,  I  made  inquiries  afterward, 
and  found  that  the  old  scamp  punished 
him  for  being  late,  saying  that  he  knew 
he  coaxed  me  to  write  the  excuse.  I 
went  down  to  Gibbs'  house,  and  told  him 
that  if  he  wasn't  an  old  man,  I  would 


166  LIMBER   LEW. 

«owhide  him  myself.  It  was  one  of  the 
most  infernal  outrages  ever  committed, 
and  we  are  all  a  set  of  fools  to  permit  such 
a  tyrant  to  hold  sway." 

"It  seems  to  me  you  took  a  great  deal 
of  liberty  to  interfere  in  the  case  of  my 
son.  It  strikes  me  that  I  was  the  proper 
individual  to  do  that." 

"And  so  it  strikes  me;  but  it  strikes 
me,  also,  that  you're  just  the  individual 
who  is  the  least  likely  in  the  world  to  do  it. " 

Judge  Fenwick  looked  aghast  at  his  visi 
tor.  Could  it  be  he  had  his  senses? 

This  is  unpardonable  language  to  use  to 
me  in  my  own  house.  Am  I  not  com 
petent  to  manage  my  own  child?" 

Captain  Reynolds  knew  it  was  a  very 
bold  proceeding,  indeed;  but  his  sympa 
thies  were  fully  enlisted,  and  he  shrank 
aot  from  the  task. 

"  You  are  competent,  judge,  but  you 
don't  do  it.  The  practice  of  whipping 
your  boy,  simply  because  the  teacher 
has  done  it,  without  inquiring  into  the 
occasion,  is  an  absurdity  and  barbarism 


THE  GATHERING   STORM.  167 

of  which  you  ought  to  be  ashamed.  I 
have  shown  you  what  an  outrageous  pro 
ceeding  it  was  for  Gibbs  to  punish  him 
to-day.  In  spite  of  that,  in  accordance 
with  your  rule,  he  will  receive  another 
equally  severe  whipping  when  he  returns 
home." 

"Most  certainly  he  will.  Do  you  see 
that  new  raw-hide  lying  there  on  the  table? 
I  purchased  that  to-day  expressly  for 
his  benefit,  and  you  may  depend  that  it 
will  be  used.  And  allow  me  to  say,  cap 
tain,  you  have  committed  an  unwarrant 
able  discourtesy  in  coming  to  me  this 
evening,  and  lecturing  me  as  you  have 
done." 

"And  allow  me  to  say,  judge,  you're 
the  infernalist  fool  that  has  the  reputation 
of  knowing  anything.  The  people  look 
upon  you  as  possessing  some  brains,  and 
I  once  suspected  it  myself;  but  the  veriest 
clod-hopper  in  the  country  has  more  sense 
than  you.  You  deserve  to  have  your 
son  curse  you,  and  I  rather  hope  he  will. " 

The    captain's    face    was    aflame    with 


168  LIMBER   LEW. 

anger,  and  he  slammed  the  library  door  shut 
and  strode  out  the  house,  mad  enough 
to  take  his  gun  and  go  out  and  shoot 
somebody.  As  it  was,  he  relieved  his  mind 
at  intervals  by  some  rather  violent  ex 
pletives. 

Judge  Fenwick's  state  was  fully  as 
bad.  He  was  so  furious  that  he  was 
threatened  with  acute  apoplexy.  When 
his  wife  asked  to  come  in,  he  refused  her, 
and  sat  for  several  hours  moody  and 
savage. 

At  about  eleven  o'clock,  he  went  up 
into  Lew's  room,  raw-hide  in  hand,  to 
await  his  coming.  He  was  already  so 
angry  that  he  could  not  become  any  more 
so. 

But  the  hours  dragged  by  and  he  came 
not. 


AN    IMPORTANT  STEP.  169 


w 


CHAPTER  XII. 

AN   IMPORTANT   STEP. 

HEN  Lew  Fenwick  went  to  school  on 
the  morning  succeeding  his  circus 
experience,  he  was  still  uncertain 
as  to  whether  he  should  run  away  or  not. 
Had  the  day's  experience  been  pleasant,  it 
is  probable  he  would  have  remained  at 
home;  and  with  the  departure  of  the 
gaudy  show,  would  have  gone  that  fasci 
nating  charm  which  held  his  mind  captive. 

But  the  fates  seemed  to  conspire  against 
him.  Captain  Reynolds  has  already  told 
how  it  was  that  the  lad  had  received 
another  whipping  that  same  afternoon, 
without  the  least  cause,  and  there  was 
a  spiteful  venom  in  the  blows  of  Gibbs, 
which  made  them  sting,  and  prevented 
their  being  forgotten  for  a  long  time. 

"That  means  another  trouncing  when 
I  get  home,"  growled  the  victim,  as  he 


170  LIMBER   LEW. 

walked  through  the  woods,  "and  I'll  be 
hanged  if  I  stand  it!  I'll  go  and  join 
the  circus. " 

Instead  of  following  a  direct  path  home 
ward,  he  deviated  enough  to  take  in  the 
handsome  residence  of  Captain  Reynolds. 
He  knew  he  was  always  welcome  there, 
and  it  was  the  only  place  in  the  world 
where  he  gained  a  practical  idea  of  happi 
ness. 

The  captain  was  a  capital  player  on 
the  violin,  he  had  scores  of  curiosities 
that  he  had  gathered  in  different  parts 
of  the  world,  and  was  an  unsurpased 
story-teller. 

What  a  treat  it  was,  when  the  winter 
wind  howled  outside,  or  the  sleet  beat 
against  the  windows,  to  hear  him  tell  of 
his  shipwreck  on  the  African  coast;  his 
year  of  vagabond  life  among  the  natives; 
his  hunts  after  the  lion,  elephant,  hippo 
potamus,  and  other  royal  game;  his  ex 
perience  in  the  awful  Sepoy  munity  in 
India,  when  he  so  narrowly  escaped  the 
fury  of  Nana  Sahib;  his  life  in  California 


AN   IMPORTANT    STEP.  171 

in  1849,  for  he  was  one  of  the  "Argo 
nauts;"  his  wanderings  in  other  portions 
of  the  globe — all  this  and  much  more,, 
we  say,  was  treated  by  the  captain  iu 
such  an  entertaining  way,  that  since  his 
mother's  death,  Lew  could  find  no  place 
in  the  world  that  possessed  the  charm 
that  this  household  did. 

Mrs.  Reynolds  was  a  lovely  woman5 
who  had  been  a  bosom  friend  of  Lew's 
mother  before  and  after  marriage,  and 
she  had  always  liked  the  boy.  Since 
the  death  alluded  to,  her  affection  for 
him  was  almost  as  great  as  if  he  were 
her  own  child. 

In  the  early  years  of  their  married  life, 
Captain  Reynolds  and  his  wife  had  re 
ceived  one  of  the  cruelest  blows  that  mind 
can  conceive.  Its  effects  always  lingered, 
though  the  passing  years  perhaps  softened 
its  rigor.  By  agreement,  neither  ever  re 
ferred  to  it,  but  its  memory  remained 
until  God  in  his  own  good  time  lifted  the 
shadow  and  let  in  the  radiant  sunshine  of  a 
happiness  that  was  like  that  of  heaven  itself. 


172  LIMBER   LEW. 

Returning  from  this  brief  digression, 
it  will  be  remembered  that  Lew  Fenwick 
made  his  way  to  the  home  of  Captain 
Reynolds  instead  of  going  directly  home 
ward.  As  he  reached  the  piazza,  he  saw 
the  captain  tipped  back  in  his  chair, 
calmly,  smoking  his  cigar. 

He  laid  down  his  paper  as  the  lad  came 
up,  and  greeted  him  with  his  usual  kindness, 
inquiring  whether  his  teacher  showed  any 
reluctance  to  excuse  him  for  his  tardiness. 

When  Lew  told  him  he  had  received 
a  whipping  therefor,  the  man  leaped  up, 
put  on  his  hat  and  coat,  and  declared 
he  would  cowhide  the  scoundrel,  strode 
off  toward  the  teacher's  house. 

Before  he  reached  it,  he  cooled  down 
enough  to  conclude  that,  instead  of  doing 
him  violence,  he  would  give  him  a  piece 
of  his  mind;  and  it  is  hardly  necessary 
to  say  that  was  done  with  characteristic 
emphasis  and  vigor. 

For  the  first  time  in  his  life,  Lew  dreaded 
to  go  home.  He  had  felt  a  distaste  on 
previous  occasions,  but  never  such  a  draw- 


AN   IMPORTANT    STEP.  173 

ing  back  as  now.  Besides  the  punishment 
that  was  impending  on  account  of  the 
"discipline"  in  school,  the  conviction  was 
strong  upon  him  that  his  father  must 
have  learned  of  his  running  away  to  the 
circus,  in  which  case  a  more  terrible 
chastisement  than  he  had  ever  known 
would  fall  to  his  lot. 

When  Captain  Reynolds  returned,  the 
lad  told  him  of  the  hard  custom  of  his 
parent,  and  said  he  had  already  been 
treated  so  badly  that  he  was  loth  to  go 
home. 

The  captain  told  him  to  stay  where 
he  was  until  nightfall,  when  he  would 
try  to  smooth  matters  for  him. 

This  was  attempted,  and  the  result 
has  already  been  made  known. 

The  captain  left  on  his  charitable  errand, 
immediately  after  tea,  the  lad  partaking 
with  them,  and  remaining  awhile  to  play 
with  the  baby,  and  to  talk  with  Mrs. 
Reynolds;  but  he  was  uneasy  and  restless, 
and  he  finally  followed. 

His  activitv  carried  him  home   almost 


174  LIMBER   LEW. 

as  soon  as  his  friend,  and  in  his  eagerness 
to  hear  the  result  of  the  interview,  he 
crept  up  close  to  the  window,  and  not 
a  word  that  passed  between  the  two 
escaped  him. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  had  Captain  Rey 
nolds  known  the  youngster  was  within 
earshot,  he  would  have  been  more  guarded 
in  his  words,  despite  the  great  provocation 
he  received  from  Judge  Fenwick. 

The  conversation  heard  by  the  young 
eavesdropper  settled  the  matter.  All  hesi 
tation  was  gone,  and  stealthily  leaving 
the  spot,  he  as  stealthily  entered  the 
house,  his  intimate  knowledge  of  the  rooms 
enabling  him  to  reach  his  own  apartment 
unobserved.  There  he  hastily  donned  his 
best  suit  of  clothes,  and  awaiting  his 
chance  slipped  out  of  the  house,  and 
was  gone. 

He  carried  nothing  but  the  garments 
he  wore,  and  had  not  even  a  penny  in 
his  pockets.  He  had  eaten  a  good  meal 
at  Captain  Reynolds',  and  of  course  he 
was  sure  of  obtaining  all  he  wanted  as 


AN   IMPORTANT   STEP.  175 

soon  as  he  attached  himself  to  the 
circus. 

As  before,  he  took  the  road  leading 
to  Birmingham,  but  had  gone  a  few  steps 
only,  when  he  was  startled  by  hearing 
a  soft  pattering  behind  him. 

Turning  his  head,  he  saw  in  the  gloom 
that  he  was  followed  by  the  watch-dog, 
Samson. 

"Go  back/'  said  Lew,  in  a  low,  earnest 
voice — "go  right  back  with  you !" 

The  dog  paused  in  the  road,  but  did 
not  turn  about,  and  the  lad  moved  on. 

He  had  gone  but  a  short  distance,  when 
he  found  Samson  at  his  heels  again. 

Lew  now  spoke  angrily,  and  raised  his 
hand  as  if  to  strike  him.  As  before,  the 
brute  stood  still,  and  seemed  to  look  up 
reproachfully;  and  hoping  that  he  would 
not  be  disobeyed,  our  hero  once  more 
resumed  his  journey,  only  to  find  that 
his  friend  was  following  him  at  a  somewhat 
greater  distance. 

"Strange  why  he  acts  that  way!"  mut 
tered  the  lad,  "I  never  knew  him  to 


176  LIMBER   LEW. 

do  so  before.  He  seems  to  know  I  am 
not  coming  back,  and  wants  to  go  with  me. " 

He  would  have  been  glad  of  his  company, 
only  he  did  not  like  the  thought  of  taking 
him  away  from  home,  where  he  was  so 
valuable  a  sentinel  at  night;  but  he  had 
done  all  he  could  to  prevent  it,  and  as 
the  dog  would  not  heed  him,  he  strove 
no  more,  but  walked  rapidly  forward. 

When  he  had  gone  a  little  way,  he 
thought  he  would  make  an  effort  to  outwit 
his  faithful  friend.  He  suddenly  ran  very 
fast  for  a  hundred  yards  or  more,  and 
then  dodged  under  the  shelter  of  a  tree. 
Here  he  waited  several  minutes,  and  seeing 
nothing  of  him,  stole  onward  again. 

"Fve  beaten  him  for  once,"  he  con 
cluded,  laughing  to  think  how  cleverly 
he  had  done  it.  "  He'll  have  to  turn 
about  at  last,  and  go  home — Hello !" 

There  Samson  was,  trotting,  demurely 
at  his  heels;  and  was  not  outwitted,  after  all. 

"All  right,"  said  the  boy;  "you  have 
beaten  me  and  I  will  give  up. " 

As  he  neared  the  town,   he  found  he 


AN   IMPORTANT   STEP.  177 

was  late,  the  spectators,  as  .numerous 
as  on  the  night  previous,  being  already 
beneath  the  canvas,  and  the  performances 
fully  under  way;  but  he  went  without 
hesitation,  to  the  door,  where  he  paused 
with  dismay,  recollecting  that  he  had 
no  ticket,  and  no  means  with  which  to 
purchase  any.. 

"What  shall  I  do?"  he  asked  himself, 
halting  at  the  entrance.  "I'll  have  to 
wait  till  the  performance  is  over.  Well, 
I  can  do  that." 

"Hello,  sonny!  what  is  the  matter?" 
called  out  the  doorkeeper,  noticing  his 
manner.  "What's  up  with  you?" 

"I  haven't  got  a  ticket  to  go  into  the 
show." 

"Well,  all  you  have  to  do  is  to  buy 
one.  Only  cost  you  twenty-five  cents." 

"But  I  haven't  got  the  twenty-five  cents." 

"Then  you'd  better  go  home  and  get 
it,"  said  the  man,  who  was  too  used  to 
the  appeals  of  poverty-stricken  urchins 
to  "come  down"  on  account  of  so  weak 
a  plea  as  that. 


178  LIMBER   LEW. 

"No;  I'll  wait  where  I  am  till  the  circus 
is  over.  That'll  do  just  as  well. " 

"Well,  that's  a  nice  way  to  enjoy  life, 
I  declare,"  replied  the  doorkeeper,  shuffling 
his  tickets  in  his  hand,  and  laughing  to 
hear  the  conclusion  of  the  boy.  "What 
are  you  going  to  wait  for?  " 

"I  want  to  see  one  of  your  men — Mr. 
Girton — who  is  expecting  me. " 

"Are  you  the  boy  that  got  thro  wed 
by  the  mules  last  night?" 

"No,  sir;  I'm  the  boy  that  didn't  get 
thro  wed, "  was  the  rather  proud  answer. 

"All  right.  George  left  word  to  pass 
you  in,  if  you  came  along.  Go  ahead, 
Johnny." 

Thanking  him  for  his  courtesy,  Lew 
nimbly  accepted  the  invitation,  and  moving 
through  the  narrow  entrance,  speedily  found 
himself  amid  the  vast  assemblage. 

He  saw  nothing  of  his  friend  Girton, 
so  he  secured  the  best  position  possible, 
and  his  attention  became  absorbed  with 
the  performances  going  on  before  him. 

They  were  very  similar  to  what  he  had 


AN   IMPORTANT   STEP.  179 

already  seen,  but  they  were  none  the  less 
entertaining  on  that  account,  and  he  speed 
ily  forgot  everything  but  the  grand  feast 
before  him. 

The  exhibitions  need  not  be  described 
at  length,  as  we  have  already  dwelt  upon 
them  in  another  place.  That  which  in 
terested  him  more  than  anything  else 
was  the  equestrian  performance  of  the 
young  Senorita  Adualina,  which,  it  seemed 
to  him,  was  more  daring  and  marvelous 
than  on  the  former  occasion.  When  the 
trained  mules  were  trotted  out,  and  the 
usual  laughable  scene  took  place,  there 
were  loud  calls  for  Lew,  "the  boy  who 
couldn't  be  fooled."  The  clown  himself, 
desirous  of  gratifying  the  people,  asked 
him  to  come  forward,  if  present;  but  the 
lad  had  determined  to  remain  in  the 
background  for  that  evening. 

He  was  wedged  in  among  a  lot  of  men, 
who,  looking  forward,  did  not  notice  who 
was  so  near  them  even  though  most  of 
them  joined  in  the  calls  for  Lew  to  present 
himself. 


180  LIMBER   LEW. 

Finally,  the  mules,  after  a  further  display 
of  their  tricks,  were  withdrawn,  and  the 
performances  came  to  a  close. 

Lew  lingered  around  until  most  of  the 
audience  were  gone,  when  he  came  across 
his  friend  Girton,  who  greeted  him  warmly 
and  expressed  his  regret  that  he  had  not 
seen  him  before. 

"I  only  wish  you  were  going  with  us. " 

"I   am,"   replied  the   boy.   "I've  come 
to  join  3^our  circus." 


THE   FRIEND    IN   NEED.  181 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  FRIEND  IN  NEED. 

Girton  caught  the  hand  of  Lew  Fenwick 
and  warmly  shook  it. 

"Good  enough;  your  fortune  is  secured, 
my  boy.  Did  you  get  the  governor's  con 
sent?" 

"No,  he  knows  nothing  about  it;  and  I 
suppose,  if  he  finds  I  am  here,  he'll  try  to 
fetch  me  back." 

"And  perhaps  prosecute  us  for  abduc 
tion,"  said  the  showman,  with  a  serious 
countenance.  "There,  you  see,  is  going  to 
be  the  rub,  and  we  must  protect  ourselves. " 

By  this  time  all  the  assemblage  had  left, 
and  the  employees  of  the  circus,  springing 
up  as  if  by  magic,  began  taking  down  the 
canvas,  tents,  poles,  and  innumerable  ap 
purtenances.  The  keepers  had  closed  the 
menagerie  wagons,  and  were  fastening  their 
horses  to  them.  Everywhere  were  bustle 


182  LIMBER   LEW. 

and  confusion,  for  the  circus  was  billed  to 
appear  on  the  morrow  at  a  place  a  dozen 
miles  away,  and  there  was  no  time  for  idle 
ness  and  play.  A  vast  deal  of  work  was  to 
be  done,  and  the  teams  must  be  on  the 
road  shortly  after  midnight,  for  the  parade 
was  to  take  place  at  Byington  at  ten  o'clock, 
and  an  afternoon  performance  was  to  be 
given  at  two;  but  there  was  system  amid 
all  this  apparent  confusion.  Each  man 
had  his  particular  work  to  do,  and  he  went 
at  it  without  asking  questions,  or  needing 
directions.  It  was  a  gigantic  machine, 
with  its  fly-wheel  or  regulator,  and  the 
wheels,  levers,  rods  and  gearing  working 
perfectly. 

Amid  the  general  wreck  of  matter,  there 
was  little  chance  for  free  conversation,  and 
Girton  and  Lew  Fenwick  walked  outside 
and  away,  until  they  were  far  enough  off  to 
be  secure  against  disturbance. 

"You  don't  know  how  glad  I  am  that 
you've  come  to  join  us,"  said  Girton. 
You'll  be  one  of  our  best  cards,  and  we'll 
make  things  hum.  While  Mr.  Simpson  is 


THE   FRIEND   IN   NEED.  183 

the  principal  owner  of  the  establishment, 
yet  there  are  three  others  that  have  an  in 
terest,  and  I'm  one  of  'em.  Simpson  is 
traveling  in  Europe,  and  we  don't  see  him 
only  at  the  opening  and  closing  of  the  sea 
son  ;  but  the  other  three  of  us  sail  in  and  do 
the  work  right  straight  along.  One  of 
these  gentlemen  is  the  advance  agent,  and 
he's  always  ahead  making  arrangements  for 
our  coming;  and  his  shrewdness  saves  us 
thousands  of  dollars  in  the  way  of  expenses. 
The  other  is  the  financier  or  treasurer  of  the 
concern,  and  has  the  handling  of  the  spondu 
licks  ;  while  my  business  is  to  look  after  the 
performers,  and  see  that  they  all  do  their 
duty.  We've  got  a  lot  of  'em,  and  they 
need  watching,  I  can  tell  you.  Some  of  the 
men  will  get  drunk  every  chance  they  have ; 
other  of  the  actors  will  pretend  they  are 
'indisposed,7  when  nothing  is  the  matter; 
and  when  they  travel  by  rail,  as  they  often 
do,  they'll  contrive  to  get  left  by  the  train, 
and  to  go  on  a  jamboree  before  they  can  be 
picked  up  again.  You  see,  I  traveled  with 
a  circus  three  years  in  England  and  Aus- 


184  LIMBER   LEW. 

tralia,  and  I  know  the  ropes.  As  I  was 
about  to  say,  or  rather  as  I  did  say,  I'm 
mighty  glad  you've  cast  in  your  lot  with  us, 
and  to  make  a  big  success  for  you,  we 
mustn't  let  ourselves  be  tripped  up  at  the 
beginning.  Your  governor  being  a  judge, 
also  knows  more  about  law  than  we  do,  and 
if  he  finds  you  with  us,  he  may  kick  up  a 
rumpus  and  make  all  sorts  of  trouble." 

"He's  just  the  one  to  do  it, "  said  Lew. 

"Well,  we  must  take  measures  to  avoid 
it.  You  see  we  are  to  show  to-morrow  in 
Byington,  and  on  the  next  day  at  Laporte, 
which  is  quite  a  city.  If  the  governor 
interferes  it  will  be  at  Byington,  so  you  had 
better  not  join  us  until  we  reach  Laporte, 
which  is  five  miles  further  on,  although  I 
believe  you  can  take  a  more  direct  course, 
which  makes  the  distance  of  both  places 
about  the  same  from  here." 

"Yes,  I  know  the  road  across  the  country. 
It  isn't  more  than  ten  miles  direct  to  La 
porte.  So  you  want  me  to  join  you  there, 
day  after  to-morrow?" 

"That's  the  idea.     In  the  meantime,  it 


THE   FRIEND   IN  NEED.  185 

might  be  a  good  notion  to  show  yourself 
among  your  friends,  and  let  them  know 
you  have  dissolved  partnership  with  the 
old  gentleman,,  and  intend  to  go  West, 
but  not  with  any  circus  company.  That 
will  help  to  throw  them  off  the  track. " 

"But  it  would  be  lying,  and  therefore 
I  can't  do  it.  I'll  meet  you  at  Laporte, 
and  then  I  s'pose  we'll  be  getting  further 
and  further  away  from  home  every  day 
after?" 

"Yes;  we're  working  toward  the  west, 
and  may  possibly  go  to  Mexico,  if  the 
business  warrants.  The  season  lasts  longer, 
of  course,  the  further  we  go  south. " 

"I  hope  you  will,"  said  Lew,  whose 
heart  bounded  at  the  thought  of  the  mag 
nificent  scenery  and  travel  that  opened 
before  him. 

"At  any  rate,  each  day,  as  I  said,  will 
carry  you  further  from  home,  and  the 
danger  from  your  governor's  interference 
will  become  less  and  less,  until  it  reaches 
the  vanishing  point.  If  he  don't  disturb 
us  at  Byington,  I  shall  believe  he  doesn't 


186  LIMBER  LEW. 

intend  to  make  any  trouble,  and  we  shall 
put  you  in  training  at  Laporte. " 

"Will  I  travel  under  my  own  name? " 
"  Certainly  not;  it  is  rarely  done.  We'll 
get  you  up  some  big  sounding  title.  You 
know  that  these  boys  that  are  performing 
in  different  circuses  begin  early  and  go 
through  a  good  deal  of  training.  It  would 
have  been  better  if  we  had  had  you  in 
hand  during  the  winter  months;  but  you 
are  naturally  the  most  supple  and  active 
lad  I  ever  met,  so  that  by  hard  work  you 
will  speedily  rank  among  the  best  youthful 
gymnasts  in  the  country,  and  we  shall 
post  you  somewhat  as  we  do  Senorita 
Adualina,  the  child-wonder." 

The  arrangement  being  made  that  Lew 
was  to  keep  in  the  background  until 
the  second  day,  when  he  was  to  be  taken 
quietly  aboard  at  Laporte,  the  lad  bade 
his  friend  good-night,  and  started  in  the 
direction  of  his  own  home,  with  the  dog 
Samson  trotting  at  his  heels. 

"This  don't  exactly  suit  me,"  he  said 
to  himself,  as  he  walked  along  in  the 


THE  FEIEND  IN  NEED.  187 

darkness.  "I've  got  to  spend  to-night 
and  to-morrow  night  somewhere,  and  I 
haven't  a  cent  of  money.  I  suppose  Mr. 
Girton  would  have  given  me  what  I  wanted 
if  I  had  asked  him,  but  I  felt  ashamed  to 
tell  him  I  hadn't  any.  I  know  what  I'll 
do,  I'll  go  to  Captain  Reynolds,  and  stay 
there  till  Thursday.  He'll  take  care  of 
me,  and  won't  let  father  know  anything 
about  it." 

Had  it  been  broad  daylight  with  the 
sun  shining,  Lew  would  have  kept  on; 
but  there  is  something  in  the  silence  and 
gloom  of  the  night  which  does  a  great 
deal  toward  drawing  a  boy's  courage  out 
at  his  finger's  ends.  He  would  have  got 
along  very  well  had  he  money,  but  he 
was  too  proud  to  sleep  in  barns  and  beg 
for  food,  after  the  manner  of  leisure  pro 
fessional  tramps. 

The  direct  route  to  Laporte  necessitated 
a  sharp  turn,  after  going  a  little  way  beyond 
Birmingham;  but  he  had  too  much  on 
his  hands  to  head  in  that  direction,  and 
walked  rapidly  forward,  until  not  far 


188  LIMBER    LEW. 

from  midnight  he  found  himself  upon 
the  handsome  and  familiar  grounds  of 
Captain  Reynolds. 

He  felt  some  hesitation  about  a  call 
at  this  time  of  night,  and  was  very  re 
luctant  to  arouse  his  friend;  but  as  he 
stepped  lightly  upon  the  piazza,  he  caught 
sight  of  the  glowing  end  of  a  cigar,  and 
saw  that,  despite  the  lateness  of  the  hour, 
the  captain  was  leaning  back  in  his  easy- 
chair,  his  slippered  feet  upon  the  railing, 
leisurely  enjoying  his  Partaga. 

" Hello,  Lew,  is  that  you?"  he  called 
out,  suspecting  the  identity  of  his  visitor. 

"Yes,  sir."  replied  the  lad,  coming 
forward  and  shaking  the  proffered  hand, 
while  Samson  stretched  himself  upon  the 
porch,  apparently  aware  that  his  journey 
ing  was  over  for  the  present. 

"Take  the  rocking-chair  here  beside 
me.  Mrs.  Reynolds  occupied  it  until  about 
half  an  hour  ago,  when  she  thought  she 
heard  the  baby  sneeze,  and  came  near 
breaking  her  neck  to  reach  it.  The  night 
is  so  pleasant  that  I  can't  bear  to  go  to 


THE    FRIEND  IN  NEED.  189 

bed  for  an  hour  yet.  We  used  to  have 
just  such  nights  as  this  in  the  South 
Pacific,  when  I've  walked  the  deck  for 
hours  and  drank  it  in;  but  tell  me,  my 
good  fellow,  how  comes  it  that  you  have 
deferred  your  visit  until  so  late  in  the 
evening?" 

"I've  got  back  from  the  circus." 
"Ah!    So  the  judge  let  you  go  down 
there?" 

"No;  he  didn't  know  anything  about  it." 
"What    I    suspected.     Then    of    course 
there'll  be  the   deuce   to   pay   when   you 
go  home." 

"I  didn't  intend  to  go  home  again." 
Captain  Reynolds  let  his  feet  drop  from 
the    railing,    and    straightened    up    with 
amazement. 
"How  is  that?" 

Thereupon  Lew  told  him  what  he  had 
done,  saying  that  he  had  fully  resolved 
never  to  step  beneath  his  father's  roof 
again.  He  knew  he  could  make  a  first- 
class  circus  performer,  and  he  didn't  wish 
his  friend  to  dissuade  him.  He  had  come  to 


190  LIMBER   LEW. 

ask  permission  to  stay  with  him  until 
Thursday,  when  he  would  take  his  farewell 
of  this  part  of  the  country. 

The  captain's  feet  were  upon  the  railing 
again,  and  he  pulled  so  hard  at  the  cigar 
that  the  glow  illuminated  his  whiskered 
face.  Once  Lew  thought  he  muttered 
something  which  sounded  very  much  like 
profanity.  Finally  he  spoke. 

"I  don't  mean  to  discourage  you  at 
all.  I  sympathize  too  much  with  you, 
and  I'll  never  assist  your  father  or  any 
who  may  choose  to  hunt  you;  but  I  want 
to  say  something  as  solemnly  as  it  can 
be  said,  and  you  must  never  forget  it. 
Go  with  the  circus  if  you  wish,  but  never 
cherish  the  ambition  of  becoming  a  pro 
fessional  actor  and  of  devoting  your  life 
to  the  business.  There  may  be  good 
and  worthy  people  in  it,  but  it  is  one  of 
the  last  professions  a  boy  should  take 
up  and  follow.  Everything  has  a,  rosy 
color  to  your  eyes,  but  it  has  its  hardships, 
trials,  temptations  and  miseries,  as  you 
will  learn  in  due  time.  Enter  it  with 


THE   FRIEND  IN  NEED.  191 

the  never-forgotten  resolution  that,  at  no 
distant  day,  you  are  to  give  it  up  forever, 
and  to  adopt  some  more  suitable  calling. 
A  year  or  two  will  wonderfully  clarify 
your  perceptions,  and  you  will  see  that 
you  cannot  afford  to  throw  away  your 
life  in  that  fashion.  I  want  you  to  write 
to  me  every  week  or  two,  and  tell  me 
what  happens — how  you  are  getting  along, 
and  your  feelings  as  to  your  own  future.  Of 
course  you  will  be  interested  to  know 
about  your  home,  and  I  will  keep  you 
informed.  Whenever  the  time  comes  when 
you  wish  to  change  your  profession,  be  sure 
to  tell  me,  and  all  the  money  you  may 
need  shall  be  at  your  command.  This 
will  be  as  great  a  favor  to  me  as  to  yourself. 
Do  you  promise?" 

Poor  Lew  was  fairly  overcome,  and 
for  a  time  could  hardly  find  words  to 
express  his  gratitude.  He  pledged  himself 
to  do  all  that  was  asked;  and  as  the  hour 
was  late,  Captain  Reynolds  conducted 
him  to  his  room  and  bade  him  good-night. 

Samson,   finding  his  master  well  taken 


192  LIMBER   LEW. 

care  of,  concluded  to  go  to  his  own 
home. 

The  captain  returned  to  his  chair  on  the 
piazza,  where  he  sat  a  while  longer,  with  his 
cigar,  meditating  over  what  had  hap 
pened. 

"I  have  strange  feelings  to-night,"  he 
murmured,  as  he  finally  rose  to  retire. 
"  Somehow  or  other  the  conviction  is 
strong  upon  me  that  this  young  boy's 
future  is  linked  with  my  own.  I  am  no 
believer  in  presentiments,  but  the  emotion 
is  none  the  less  strong,  for  all  that.  At 
any  rate,  I  consider  it  my  duty  to  look 
after  his  welfare,  and  nothing  shall  dissuade 
me  from  doing  so. " 

His  wife  was  awakened  by  his  footsteps, 
and  they  commented  on  how  lovely  their 
babe  looked  in  its  innocent  slumber;  but 
the  husband  made  no  reference  to  the 
presence  of  Lew  Fenwick  in  the  house, 
wishing  to  avoid  exciting  her,  and  pre 
ferring  to  wait  until  the  morrow,  when 
he  would  tell  her  all. 

Lew  slept  soundly,  until  morning,  when 


THE   FRIEND    IN  NEED.  193 

he  arose,  at  a  somewhat  later  hour  than 
usual,  and  came  down  stairs. 

Mrs.  Reynolds,  by  this  time,  was  ac 
quainted  with  all  her  husband  knew,  and 
she  greeted  him  with  an  affectionate  kind 
ness  that  caused  him  for  the  moment 
to  wish  he  might  remain  there  forever. 

"You  will  have  to  keep  rather  shady 
to-day,"  remarked  the  captain,  as  they 
sat  at  breakfast.  "  There  is  no  need  of 
any  one  about  the  place,  excepting  Bridget, 
seeing  you,  and  I  have  told  her  that  she 
must  know  nothing  about  it,  if  any  in 
quiries  are  made  of  her.  Some  of  the 
school  children  occasionally  come  over 
here  at  noon,  and  it  will  hardly  be  prudent 
for  them  to  see  you.  After  to-day,  I  care 
not  who  knows  it;  but  I  suppose  the  judge 
will  demand  your  return,  the  very  hour 
he  learns  you  are  here,  and  it  will  not 
do  to  say  nay  to  him,  although  of  course 
I  should  manage  to  let  you  give  us  the  slip. 
However,  the  best  plan  will  be  to  avoid 
all  that,  when  it  can  be  done  so  easily." 

Lew    promised    compliance,    and    after 


194  LIMBER   LEW. 

breakfast  he  went  up  into  one  of  the 
upper  apartments,  which  the  captain  used, 
now  and  then,  as  a  gymnasium  and  smok 
ing-room. 

Here  were  a  number  of  rare  and  valuable 
books,  in  which  he  deeply  interested  him 
self  for  an  hour  or  two,  when  he  was 
alarmed  by  the  appearance  of  the  captain. 

He  supposed  he  had  brought  some  start 
ling  tidings,  but  the  caller  told  him  very 
quietly  there  was  nothing  new,  and  sug 
gested  that,  as  he  expected  to  enter  on 
his  professional  career  so  soon,  he  should 
test  himself  with  the  appliances  about  him. 

The  lad  eagerly  did  so,  stripping  to 
the  waist,  and  going  through  the  per 
formances  under  the  direction  of  the  cap 
tain,  who  was  an  old  hand  at  the  business. 

Great  as  he  knew  his  skill  to  be,  the 
gentleman  could  not  conceal  his  expressions 
of  admiration  over  the  boy's  grace  and 
agility.  Many  of  the  feats  had  never 
been  attempted  or  even  seen  by  the  lad, 
who  nevertheless  executed  them  with  the 
brilliancy  of  a  professional,  the  instant 


THE  FRIEND    IN  NEED.  195 

he  was  able  to  comprehend  what  they 
were. 

"I  don't  see  what  necessity  there  is 
for  you  to  undergo  any  training,"  said 
the  captain,  when  the  thing  had  continued 
for  an  hour  or  so.  "  There  is  nothing 
that  I  ever  saw  done  in  Australia  (I  have 
never  visited  such  an  exhibition  in  this 
country)  that  you  cannot  do;  but  you 
may  fail,  when  you  find  yourself  under 
the  glare  of  the  gaslight,  and  with  thousands 
of  eyes  fixed  upon  you.  Those  are  the 
times  that  try  the  nerves  of  a  novice, 
although,  after  awhile,  they  become  as 
food  and  drink  to  the  professional." 

"I  wonder  whether  they  will  want  me 
to  walk  a  rope." 

"If  they  do,  refuse  them,  under  all 
circumstances.  That  is  not  in  your  line, 
and  a  broken  leg  or  neck  will  be  the  in 
evitable  result.  I  guess  you  have  had 
enough  for  to-day,  and  now  perhaps  a 
little  ramble  in  the  woods  will  do  you 
good,  taking  care  to  keep  away  from  the 
neighborhood  of  the  school-house. 


196  LIMBER  LEW. 

Lew  acted  upon  the  advice,  following 
a  direction  that  he  thought,  was  free  from 
all  likelihood  of  meeting  any  one;  but 
he  had  not  gone  far,  when  he  met  Billy 
Huggins. 

Both  were  surprised,  and  our  hero, 
in  answer  to  the  question  as  to  what  he 
was  doing  there,  told  the  truth — he  was 
taking  a  walk. 

"And  Old  Gibbs  sent  me  out  to  look 
for  you,  'cause  some  one  told  him  you 
was  playing  hookey,  and  he  has  got  a 
new  gad  on  his  desk  that's  about  half 
a  mile  long.  He's  got  it  on  purpose  for 
you." 

"You  go  back,  Billy,  and  tell  him  you 
met  me,  and  I  said  if  he  wanted  me,  all 
he  had  to  do  was  to  come  after  me.  I'd 
like  to  catch  him  here,"  muttered  Lew, 
his  hot  temper  rising.  "I'd  stone  and 
chase  him  back." 

After  further  words,  during  which  our 
young  friend  evaded  any  direct  answers, 
Billy  returned  to  school,  and  not  only 
delivered  the  message  with  which  he  was 


THE  FRIEND  IN  NEED.  197 

intrusted,  but  he  embroidered  it  tre 
mendously.  He  said  Lew  considered  him 
a  mean  old  fool,  and  was  about  to  add 
more  when  the  teacher  cut  him  short  with 
a  flirt  of  his  gigantic  stick. 

Mr.  Gibbs  nursed  his  wrath  against 
the  return  of  his  pet  victim,  Lew  Fenwick; 
but  he  waited  in  vain.  He  had  whipped 
that  boy  for  the  last  time. 


198  LIMBER   LEW. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE   FIRST   PERFORMANCE. 

IF  Judge  Fenwick  suspected  that  his  son 
was  being  harbored  by  Captain  Rey 
nolds,  he  did  not  send  for  him,  nor  did 
he  despatch  any  officer  to  Simpson's  Circus 
and  Menagerie,  with  a  demand  for  his 
return.  No;  his  son  had  made  his  bed, 
and  he  must  lie  in  it. 

Since  the  interview  we  have  mentioned, 
all  visitation  between  the  two  families 
ceased.  The  captain,  who  thoroughly  un 
derstood  the  weakness  of  Mrs.  Fenwick, 
felt  as  if  he  would  like  to  stiffen  her  per 
ceptions  a  little  by  showing  her  what  a 
puppet  she  was;  but  such  a  course  was 
hardly  justifiable;  and  he  did  nothing. 

It  was  just  a  week  after  the  departure 
of  Lew  Fenwick,  when  Captain  Reynolds 
while  pushing  the  baby  in  her  carriage 
through  a  shady  path  in  the  woods,  sud- 


THE  FIRST   PERFORMANCE.  199 

denly  encountered  the  judge  for  the  first 
tune  since  their  late  coldness. 

The  old  fellow  was  walking  slowly  along, 
cane  in  hand,  his  face  red,  either  from 
the  heat,  or  his  own  temper,  or  something 
else. 

The  two  men  looked  at  each  other  de 
fiantly  in  the  eye,  and  neither  spoke,  nor 
turned  from  the  path,  until  they  were 
near,  when  both  halted. 

"I  don't  turn  out  for  low-lived  scoun 
drels!"  said  the  judge,  raising  his  cane 
threateningly. 

"I  do,"  replied  the  captain,  quietly 
turning  aside,  and  shoving  the  carriage 
before  him. 

He  noticed  that  the  judge  was  pretty 
full  of  wine,  and  he  was  a  much  older 
man  than  himself.  He  could  never  be 
tempted  to  offer  him  violence. 

"See  here,"  said  the  judge,  glaring 
after  him,  his  voice  husky  and  his  face 
purple,  "when  you  get  through  harboring 
that  scapegrace  of  mine,  send  me  the  bill 
for  his  board,  will  you?" 


200  LIMBER   LEW. 

"I  never  send  a  bill,  where  I  know 
the  debtor  is  too  mean  to  pay  it. " 

The  old  gentleman  seemed  so  near  chok 
ing  with  passion  that  the  captain  relented; 
besides,  his  neighbor  was  plainly  laboring 
under  a  misapprehension. 

"  Judge, "  said  he,  stepping  near  to 
him  and  speaking  in  a  calm  voice,  "I 
never  seek  a  quarrel  with  any  man,  nor 
can  I  consent  to  wrangle  with  one  so 
much  older  than  I,  who  is  fast  going  to 
wreck  and  ruin  from  alcohol.  Your  son 
Lewis  stayed  with  me  two  nights  and  a 
day,  and  I  wish  I  could  have  kept  him 
all  his  life.  I  would  have  done  what 
his  father  never  did — appreciated  and 
treated  him  justly.  He  then  left  me, 
and  I  have  not  seen  him  since,  nor  do 
I  expect  to  see  him  for  years.  Nor  need 
you  expect  that  anything  can  induce  him 
to  come  back.  Finding  nothing  but  cruelty 
and  injustice  at  home,  he  has  gone  out 
in  the  wide  world,  certain  that,  if  he  can 
get  no  better,  he  can  get  no  worse.  I 
wish  you  good-day,  judge." 


THE  FIRST   PERFORMANCE.  201 

And  he  passed  on  without  waiting  for 
a  reply,  and  Judge  Fenwick  walked  silently 
homeward,  his  thoughts  possibly  running 
in  a  different  channel. 

"I  wonder  whether  I  haven't  made  a 
mistake?"  he  muttered,  his  brow  con 
tracting  as  if  with  painful  thought.  "Have 
I  not  seen  things  darkly?  But  no — I 
cannot  admit  that!" 

In  the  meantime,  Lew  Fenwick,  or 
Limber  Lew,  as  he  was  speedily  christened, 
was  becoming  rapidly  initiated  into  the 
mysteries  of  his  calling.  Liberally  supplied 
with  money  by  Captain  Reynolds,  he 
came  down  upon  the  circus  at  Laporte 
in  style,  and  was  regularly  engaged  by 
George  Girton  as  one  of  the  performers, 
his  engagement  to  date  from  the  next 
day,  when,  on  the  evening  of  which,  he 
was  to  give  his  first  performance,  under 
the  name  of  "Alfonso,  the  renowned  Italian 
gymnast,  who  had  been  performing  for 
the  last  three  years  in  Australia,  and 
previously  in  the  principal  cities  of 
the  United  Kingdom,  where  he  had 


202  LIMBER   LEW. 

received  the  marked  approbation  of 
royalty. " 

On  the  night  of  the  performance  at 
Laporte,  Lew  was  in  the  tent  among  the 
performers,  watching  and  learning  all  he 
could.  There  were  three  boys  connected 
with  the  establishment,  who,  at  intervals 
performed  gymnastic  feats,  such  as  throw 
ing  a  dozen  backward  and  forward  somer 
saults  in  rapid  succession,  walking  around 
on  their  hands,  or  indulging  in  feats  with 
the  bars  and  trapeze. 

One  of  these  was  older  than  Lew,  another 
somewhat  younger,  while  the  third  (little 
Tom)  was  no  more  than  five  years  of 
age.  He  was  a  wonder  in  his  way,  and 
it  was  the  wish  of  Girton  to  find  some  young 
athlete  who  could  utilize  his  ability. 

The  three  boys,  although  advertised 
as  brothers,  were  not  related  to  one  another. 
The  two  older  were  good  gymnasts,  and 
the  verbal  understanding  was  that  Lew 
was  to  rank  as  one  of  them;  but  Girton 
told  him  he  had  hopes  of  his  success 
where  the  others  had  failed — that  is,  in 


THE   FIRST  PERFORMANCE.  203 

making  an  exhibition  of  exceptional  ex 
cellence  by  uniting  his  skill  with  that 
of  Little  Tom,  so  as  to  show  off  both  to 
the  best  advantage  possible. 

When  the  regular  performance  was  con 
cluded,  Lew  donned  his  gaudy  suit,  and 
made  some  experiments  with  the  three 
youthful  actors,  who  were  directed  to 
lend  their  assistance.  The  result  of  a 
half-hour  was  the  demonstration  that  he 
not  only  equaled  but  actually  surpassed 
the  elder  two.  Little  Tommy,  however, 
seemed  at  times  as  if  to  have  scarcely 
any  bones  in  his  body. 

Encouraged  by  his  success,  a  sort  of 
pillow  was  prepared  on  the  blanket,  and 
Lew  lay  down,  with  his  legs  elevated,  and 
did  what  he  could  in  tossing  the  phenome 
non  upward  and  catching  him  upon  his 
feet.  A  little  practice  enabled  him  to  do 
it  so  well  that  Tommy  turned  a  neat  somer 
sault  in  the  air,  and  was  caught,  as  he 
came  down,  ready  to  repeat  the  feat. 
Then  Lew  seized  the  little  fellow  by  the 
arms  and  flung  him  upward,  so  that  he 


204  LIMBER   LEW. 

turned  over  and  dropped  squarely  upon 
his  feet,  and  threw  his  kiss  to  the  imaginary 
audience.  This  was  really  harder  upon 
the  larger  than  upon  the  smaller  boy, 
and  the  former  was  soon  so  exhausted 
that  he  was  compelled  to  stop. 

"All  right,"  said  the  delighted  Girton, 
as  he  patted  his  shoulder,  and  the  other 
actors  who  were  looking  on,  heartily  ap 
plauded.  "Practice  that  a  little  to-morrow 
and  you'll  do  it  well  at  night.  I'm  only 
sorry  that  we  hadn't  you  sooner,  so  that 
we  might  have  billed  you  ahead.  I  will 
telegraph  to  Struthers  in  the  morning 
to  get  some  extra  posters,  and  on  Friday 
night — that's  to-morrow — you'll  give  your 
first  performance  in  Simpson's  Circus.  I 
hope  it  will  not  be  your  last  by  a  long  shot. " 

Lew  was  highly  pleased  and  was  in 
buoyant  spirits  when  he  accompanied  Gir 
ton  to  the  hotel  and  shared  his  room  with 
him.  The  veteran  was  somewhat  sur 
prised  to  see  his  young  friend  kneel  down 
at  the  bedside,  and  spend  several  minutes 
in  silent  prayer;  but  he  respected  the 


THE  FIRST  PERFORMANCE.  205 

moral  courage  of  the  lad,  and  as  he  recalled 
the  years  that  had  passed  since  he  had 
done  the  same  thing,  at  his  mother's 
knee  in  far-away  England,  the  tears  stole 
into  his  eyes,  and  in  his  heart  he  envied  him. 

The  young  performer  was  so  wearied 
that  he  slept  soundly  until  called  to  break 
fast.  The  circus  and  menagerie,  with  the 
workmen  attached  to  it,  had  already  been 
gone  a  considerable  time,  and  in  the  course 
of  an  hour  the  performers  themselves 
took  passage  in  the  cars,  and  reached 
the  scene  of  their  next  entertainment 
before  noon. 

Lew  still  felt  some  uneasiness  about  a 
visit  from  his  father,  but  each  hour  lessened 
it,  as  they  continued  drawing  steadily 
away  from  the  neighborhood  of  his  home. 

It  would  naturally  be  supposed  that 
he  would  find  his  associates  in  the  two 
boys,  who  were  near  his  own  age,  and 
with  whom  he  gave  joint  exhibitions.  They 
were  friendly  at  first,  but  it  soon  became 
evident  there  could  be  no  cordial  relations 
between  them. 


206  LIMBER   LEW. 

The  acrobats  had  been  picked  out  of 
the  slums  of  New  York  City  when  the 
merest  urchins,  and  neither  of  the  larger 
two  was  able  to  write  his  name.  They 
were  coarse  and  profane,  mutually  envious, 
until  the  coming  of  Lew,  when  both  turned 
their  jealousy  against  him. 

There  were  other  boys  employed  in 
different  capacities,  but  there  was  nothing 
attractive  about  any  of  them,  and  Lew 
associated  mainly  with  Girton,  who  had 
shown  such  a  friendly  interest  in  him 
from  the  beginning. 

Attached  to  the  circus  and  menagerie 
were  probably  seventy  or  eighty  persons. 
Among  the  possessions  were  an  elephant, 
two  lions,  a  tiger,  grizzly  bear,  and  a 
number  of  less  important  animals. 

These  were  provided  with  keepers,  while 
every  wagon  of  course  had  its  driver, 
and  there  was  the  band,  and  others  em 
ployed  in  menial  positions. 

The  caravan  generally  managed  to  reach 
the  town  in  which  their  performance  was 
to  be  given  some  time  during  the  forenoon, 


THE  FIRST   PERFORMANCE.  207 

when  the  parade  took  place.  The  posters 
announced  that  it  would  "be  over  a  mile 
in  length,"  when  in  reality  it  could  scarcely 
be  strung  out  a  quarter  of  a  Roman  mile — 
the  shortest  of  modern  measurements  of 
that  name. 

The  weather  still  remained  fair,  but 
the  afternoon  exhibition  was  only  moder 
ately  attended,  and  Lew  deferred  his 
appearance  until  night.  He  practiced 
with  the  Rollo  Brothers,  as  they  were 
termed,  until  he  had  the  programme  clearly 
fixed  in  his  mind,  and  was  confident  he 
could  go  through  his  part  without  a  break. 

Then  he  and  little  Tom  arranged  the 
show  they  were  to  give,  and  went  back 
to  the  hotel,  while  the  elder  impatiently 
awaited  the  coming  of  evening,  when 
he  should  make  his  never-to-be-forgotteu 
first  appearance. 

"I  think  Tom  and  I  are  going  to  get 
along  first-rate,"  he  said  to  Girton.  "He 
is  a  clever,  good-natured  boy,  and  tries 
hard,  and  it  won't  take  us  long  to  learn 
each  other's  ways. 


208  LIMBER   LEW. 

"I  have  no  doubt  you  will  do  well, 
but  I  feel  a  little  cross  this  afternoon." 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  Lew,  in 
surprise. 

"You  know  Perkins,  the  bare-back-  rider 
— he  goes  under  the  name  of  Wandilini— 
one   of   the   best  horsemen   we  ever  had. 
Did    you    notice    anything    queer    about 
him  this  afternoon?" 

"I  don't  recollect,  except  that  he  slipped 
off  his  horse  once. " 

"He  never  would  have  done  that  if 
he  had  been  sober.  He  was  half  tipsy 
through  the  performance,  and  though  I 
tried  to  keep  him  under  my  eye,  yet  he 
has  managed  to  get  whisky  somewhere, 
and  is  upstairs  in  bed,  as  drunk  as  a  fool. " 

"Won't  he  be  able  to  perform  to-night?" 

"I  wouldn't  have  him  go  into  the  ring 
for  five  hundred  dollars.  He  would  act 
in  such  a  ridiculous  style  that  the  audience 
would  drive  him  out.  I  ought  to  discharge 
him,  and  I've  threatened  to  do  so  times 
without  number;  and  yet  I  hate  to  do 
it,  because  he  supports  a  sick  mother, 


THE  FIRST   PERFORMANCE.  209 

and  is  educating  his  two  children,  his 
wife  being  dead — and  I  don't  know  what 
would  become  of  him  if  we  should  turn 
him  off.  There  isn't  a  better  equestrain 
in  the  country,  and  he  could  make  double 
his  salary  if  it  wasn't  for  this  habit.  The 
worst  of  it  is,  too,  that  when  he  gets  on 
one  of  his  sprees  it  lasts  a  week.  However, 
there's  always  some  trouble  of  this  kind, 
and  we  shall  have  to  do  our  best  without 
him." 

Lew  was  in  a  sort  of  flutter  all  the  after 
noon,  sometimes  fearing  that  he  would 
make  an  utter  failure  and  then  again 
counting  upon  the  greatest  sort  of  a  success. 

He  walked  about  the  town  toward  even 
ing,  and  watched  the  countrymen  as  they 
came  into  the*  place.  Some  of  them  rode 
for  miles  in  rickety  wagons,  husband, 
wife  and  children,  all  stowed  away,  and 
bringing  their  dinner  with  them.  Most 
of  these  had  arrived  early  in  the  morning, 
and  halting  on  some  corner,  had  waited 
patiently,  hour  after  hour,  until  the  ap 
pearance  of  the  gorgeous  procession.  Then 


210  LIMBER   LEW. 

they  were  among  the  first  to  pass  beneath 
the  canvas,  where,  with  open  mouth  and 
staring  eyes,  they  strolled  about,  viewing 
the  menagerie,  awaiting  the  performance, 
and  enjoying  a  feast  which  lasted  them 
all  a  good  year  at  least. 

There  were  others  who  had  walked 
miles,  and  sitting  down  upon  the  porch 
of  some  store,  munched  their  bread  and 
butter,  like  so  many  oxen  chewing  their  cuds. 

It  was  growing  dark  when  Lew  started 
out,  but  he  had  gone  only  a  short  distance 
when,  somehow  or  other,  he  was  recognized 
as  an  attache  of  the  circus,  and  instantly 
a  swarm  of  boys  began  following  ad 
miringly  after  him,  every  one  striving  to 
scrape  acquaintance,  with  the  ulterior  pur 
pose  of  "getthY  into  the  show  for  nothin'." 

To  escape  their  embarrassing  attentions, 
he  returned  to  the  hotel,  where  the  entire 
company  partook  very  sparingly  of  a 
lunch,  and  then,  some  twenty  minutes 
before  it  was  time  for  the  performance  to 
begin,  they  sauntered  off  to  the  tent, 
where  the  band  was  already  playing. 


THE  FIRST  PERFORMANCE.  211 

Lew  wondered  how  it  was  they  could 
walk  so  deliberately  and  talk  about  every 
thing  else  except  the  business  before  him. 
It  was  all  he  could  think  of,  and  he  started 
more  than  once  with  a  feverish  thrill  as 
he  reflected  that,  in  a  very  few  minutes, 
thousands  of  eyes  would  be  fixed  upon 
him  and  scanning  every  movement. 

When  the  performers'  tent  was  reached, 
the  actors  took  a  sly  peep  through  the 
canvass,  and  saw  they  had  one  of  the 
most  immense  assemblages  of  the  season. 
It  was  greater  than  at  Birmingham,  and 
Girton  was  in  high  feather  over  the  success 
that  had  marked  their  tour  thus  far. 

Although  it  still  lacked  some  minutes 
of  the  time  for  opening,  yet  the  multitude 
were  whistling,  cat-calling  and  shouting 
for  the  players  to  come  out — the  few 
who  had  managed  to  crawl  under  the 
tent  making  more  noise  than  ten  times 
their  number. 

Promptly  at  eight  o'clock  the  mottled 
steeds  trotted  into  the  ring,  under  the 
direction  of  the  riders,  and  the  performances 


212  LIMBER   LEW. 

opened  with   a  fine   exhibition  of  horse 
manship. 

When  this  was  completed,  the  ring 
master  and  the  clown  came  upon  the 
scene,  and  everybody  was  pleased,  for 
there  is  nothing  that  so  suits  a  promiscuous 
audience  as  something  bordering  upon  fun. 

The  clown  was  in  good  form,  and 
the  laughter  started  at  once.  At  every 
crack  of  the  ring-master's  whip,  he  threw 
somersaults,  and  now  and  then  managed 
to  kick  his  director  by  a  back  flirt  of  his 
foot,  and  despite  the  constant  flashing 
of  the  whip-lash,  he  managed  constantly 
to  get  the  better  of  him.  Some  jokes 
and  conundrums  followed,  and  then  the 
two  withdrew  temporarily  from  view. 

Lew's  turn  had  come. 

The  three  larger  boys  ran  out  together, 
and  the  instant  they  entered  the  ring, 
began  their  gymnastics.  At  the  very  first 
effort,  Lew  came  in  collision  with  the  elder 
boy,  and  fell  awkwardly  to  the  ground. 
A  derisive  shout  greeted  the  failure,  and 
he  was  filled  with  chagrin  and  anger, 


THE   FIRST   PERFORMANCE.  213 

for  he  knew  his  companion  had  done  it 
purposely;  but  this  was  no  occasion  for 
resenting  it,  and  he  repeated  the  attempt, 
succeeding  so  well  that  the  slip  was  quickly 
forgotten. 

After  going  through  this  part  of  the 
programme  the  lads  were  liberally  ap 
plauded,  and  retired  to  give  way  to  Senorita 
Adualina,  whose  performance,  as  usual, 
was  of  the  most  brilliant  nature,  and  caused 
the  spectators  speedily  to  forget  all  that 
had  gone  before.  She  was  encored  by 
the  merciless  multitude,  who,  as  usual, 
thought  of  nothing  except  their  own  en 
tertainment.  When  she  kissed  her  hand 
and  retired,  it  was  from  exhaustion. 

The  next  act  was  that  of  the  trick  mules, 
characterized,  as  a  matter  of  course,  by 
the  most  boisterous  merriment.  When  this 
was  over,  the  great  event  of  the  evening — 
that  is  to  Lew  himself — was  due. 

The  elastic  blanket  was  spread  out, 
one  end  doubled  and  folded  over  a  raised 
pillow,  and  he  and  Little  Tom  ran  for 
ward  and  made  their  bow.  Then  turning 


214  LIMBER   LEW. 

he  caught  the  little  fellow  by  the  hands, 
drew  him  through  his  legs  and  flung  him 
aloft.  He  came  down  as  nimbly  as  a 
cat  upon  his  feet,  and  there  was  a  general 
clapping  of  hands. 

The  act  was  repeated,  and  then  Lew  lay 
down,  with  his  head  resting  upon  the 
pillow  and  his  feet  elevated.  Tom  ran 
forward,  and  placing  his  hands  upon  those 
of  the  prostrate  boy,  turned  a  somersault 
and  landed  upright  with  his  feet  upon 
those  of  Lew.  This  pleased  the  audience, 
and  he  was  then  tossed  aloft.  He  made 
the  somersault  again,  but  as  he  descended 
he  missed  his  footing  by  a  hairsbreadth, 
and  fell  awkwardly  upon  the  chest  of 
Lew. 

But  the  people  were  lenient  toward 
the  little  fellow,  as  they  supposed  the 
fault  was  his,  and  as  he  instantly  clam 
bered  up  again,  and  not  only  repeated 
the  attempt  but  succeeded,  they  repaid 
him  by  the  most  deafening  applause. 

Lew,  however,  was  suffering  from  the 
blow  in  the  chest,  and  was  forced  to  end 


THE   FIRST  PERFORMANCE.  215 

the  display  sooner  than  he  meant,  "re 
tiring  in  such  good  order"  that  not  a 
single  spectator  suspected  the  true 
cause. 


216  LIMBER  LEW. 


A 


CHAPTER  XV. 

ON   THE    ROAD. 

S  Lew  Fenwick  and  little  Tom  ran  back 
to  the  tent,  the  applause  was  con 
tinued,  almost  ceasing,  then  breaking 
out  again,  and  rising  and  falling  like  the 
waves  of  the  sea. 

"You'll  have  to  go  back,"  said  one 
of  the  group  of  performers  who  were 
awaiting  their  turn  to  take  part. 

Little  Tom  was  more  than  ready,  but 
Lew,  white  and  faint,  leaned  against  the 
pole  and  shook  his  head,  speaking  feebly : 

"I  must  wait  awhile." 

Those  who  were  looking  at  him  sup 
posed  his  weakness  resulted  from  fright 
attending  his  first  essay.  Girton  was  not 
present,  and  none  of  those  who  were 
showed  much  sympathy. 

"That  cheer  he  got  when  he  tumbled 
over  was  more  than  he  could  stand," 


ON   THE   ROAD.  217 

remarked  the  clown,  as  he  started  out  of 
the  tent,  seeing  that  it  would  not  do  to 
keep  the  people  waiting  longer. 

"A  regular  calf,"  observed  the  eldest 
of  the  Hollo  Brothers,  with  an  effort  to 
excite  a  laugh  among  the  others.  I  s'pose 
he's  thinking  about  his  mommy,  and 
wants  to  go  home. 

Lew  made  no  reply  to  these  unkind 
remarks,  because  he  felt  too  ill  to  do 
so.  Had  he  been  better,  he  probably 
would  have  resented  them.  So  he  found  a 
seat  into  which  he  sank,  until  he  could 
rally  from  the  shock. 

The  taunts  we  have  mentioned,  and 
others,  seemed  to  arouse  the  manhood 
in  the  youngster,  and  he  rapidly  regained 
his  self-mastery.  Short,  however,  as  was 
the  time,  it  was  too  late  for  him  to  re 
spond  to  the  calls  of  the  spectators,  as 
another  part  of  the  programme  was  in 
full  blast. 

"Do  you  know  what  was  the  matter 
with  me?"  he  asked  of  Howson,  one  of 
the  trapeze  performers,  who  was  standing 


218  LIMBER   LEW. 

idly  by,  with  folded  arms,  awaiting  his 
turn. 

"I  s'pose  you  give  up,"  was  the  in 
different  reply,  the  man  not  even  deigning 
to  look  down  at  him  as  he  spoke. 

"Little  Tom  made  a  slip  and  fell  on 
my  stomach,  and  it  made  me  so  sick 
for  a  few  minutes  that  I  thought  I  should 
keel  over  before  I  could  get  back  here. " 

"You  ought  to  know  enough  not  to 
let  him  fall." 

These  words  were  uttered  in  the  same 
indifferent  manner  as  the  others,  and 
they  made  the  boy  aware  of  one  thing — 
among  all  these  performers,  men,  women 
and  boys,  there  was  not  a  single  person 
who  cared  the  value  of  a  penny  for  him. 
Each  one  was  toiling  for  his  or  her  living, 
and  though  there  were  affiliations  to  a 
greater  or  less  degree  among  the  majority, 
yet  there  was  none  who  would  reciprocate 
any  advance  from  him.  Although  most 
of  them  applauded  his  first  experience, 
and  showed  some  curiosity  in  the  first 
lad  who  had  outwitted  the  trick  mules, 


ON   THE    ROAD.  219 

yet  as  soon  as  he  became  one  of  them,  they 
seemed  to  lose  all  interest  in  him. 

This  was  a  chilling  disappointment,  as 
from  the  first  he  supposed  there  would 
be  a  perfect  fraternity  among  them,  and 
the  society  of  those  who  had  been  per 
formers  for  years,  he  supposed,  would 
be  very  much  like  the  days  he  used  to 
spend  at  Captain  Reynolds',  listening  to 
his  narratives  of  adventure. 

However,  he  was  too  proud  to  seek 
companionship  where  it  was  manifestly 
unwelcome,  and  he  drew  within  himself 
as  much  as  did  they.  There  remained 
Girt  on,  who  was  always  ready  to  talk 
with  him,  and  to  take  him  under  his 
especial  protection;  and  such  a  friend 
at  court  was  worth  all  the  good-will  of 
the  others. 

Lew  was  disappointed  in  another  re 
spect.  He  supposed  he  would  become 
acquainted  with  Senorita  Adualina,  and 
learn  her  history;  but  as  yet  he  had  not 
exchanged  a  word  with  her,  and  hardly 
a  glimpse,  except  when  she  was  per. 


220  LIMBER   LEW. 

forming  in  the  ring.  The  female  actors 
were  under  the  charge  of  an  elderly, 
matronly  lady,  who  kept  them  to  them 
selves.  It  seemed  that  she  was  the  wife 
of  the  advance  agent,  and  was  as  inter 
ested  as  he  in  the  success  of  the  enterprise. 
She  intended,  so  far  as  in  her  lay,  to 
prevent  all  flirting  and  match-making 
among  the  performers. 

When  traveling  by  rail,  the  feminine 
branch  generally  took  a  different  car  from 
the  masculine,  so  that  in  some  respects 
there  was  as  much  exclusiveness  and  caste 
among  the  attaches  of  the  circus  and 
menagerie  as  are  in  society  itself. 

The  state  of  affairs  as  we  have  intimated, 
was  a  grievous  disappointment  to  Limber 
Lew.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  unmistakable 
liking  shown  by  Girton,  his  position  would 
have  speedily  become  unbearable. 

Besides  this  there  was  another  cause 
for  chagrin,  of  which  nothing  in  the  world 
could  have  induced  him  to  speak.  He 
had  fancied  that  in  some  way  or  other 
there  would  be  a  reciprocation  of  the 


ON   THE    ROAD.  221 

intertest  shown  in  the  beauteous  Adualina. 
She  would  see  him  and  meet  his  ap 
proach  half-way;  she  would  tell  him  all 
about  herself,  or  show  an  interest  in  his 
affairs;  they  would  have  many  social 
talks  together;  and,  in  short,  she  would 
prefer  him  above  any  other  of  the  entire 
company. 

Such  was  the  picture  fancy  painted; 
but,  as  we  have  shown,  the  reality  was 
the  opposite.  Although  he  had  made  many 
attempts  to  catch  her  eye,  he  was  not  aware 
even  that  she  had  so  much  as  glanced  at  him. 

The  fear,  however,  that  her  gaze  was 
fixed  upon  him  when  he  committed  the 
blunders  at  his  opening  performance,  caused 
him  ten  times  more  chagrin  than  the 
hooting  of  the  spectators. 

However,  these  were  matters  which  he 
kept  to  himself.  His  cheek  would  have 
crimsoned  with  shame  had  he  learned 
that  any  one  suspected  his  secret. 

Boys  of  all  ages  are  inclined  to  build 
castles  in  the  air,  the  remembrance  of 
which  in  after  life  causes  them  to  smile. 


222  LIMBER  LEW. 

He  had  no  purpose  of  turning  back, 
but  he  could  not  avoid  recalling  the  words 
of  Captain  Reynolds,  when  he  warned 
him  of  the  difference  between  being  in 
front  and  behind  the  scenes. 

"  However,  if  the  others  can  stand  it, 
I  can, "  he  muttered,  bracing  up  his  courage. 

He  was  not  satisfied  by  any  means 
with  his  first  performance,  and  the  fact 
that  not  a  single  compliment  greeted 
his  return  to  the  tent  was  equivalent 
to  a  general  condemnation.  One  good 
result,  however,  was  to  stir  his  ambition, 
and  to  apprise  him  that,  although  he 
was  remarkably  gifted  with  activity, 
strength  and  agility,  yet  he  needed  training 
and  practice  before  he  could  reach  a  de 
gree  of  proficiency  satisfactory  even  to 
himself. 

"We  haven't  got  the  thing  perfect  yet," 
he  remarked  to  Tommy,  as  the  exhibition 
drew  to  a  close.  "We  must  practice  to 
gether  to-morrow  forenoon,  until  there 
is  no  danger  of  another  slip. " 

"It    was    your    fault,"    said    the    little 


ON   THE   ROAD.  223 

fellow.  "When  I  came  down,  you  let 
your  foot  turn  so  I  couldn't  help  falling." 

"I  suppose  it  was,"  replied  Lew;  "but 
you  see  it  takes  practice.  I  don't  believe 
you  did  a  great  deal  better  the  first  time 
you  tried.  Hello,  they're  all  through!" 

The  spectators  were  filing  out,  and,  as 
before,  immediate  work  was  begun  in 
taking  down  the  canvas,  and  getting  every 
thing  ready  for  removal  to  the  next  point 
of  exhibition. 

The  performers  donned  their  "citizen's 
suit,"  and  returned  to  their  quarters  at 
the  hotel,  while  those  who  were  to  appear 
in  the  parade,  gathered  their  luggage 
together  as  hastily  as  possible,  for  some  of 
them  were  to  take  the  road  with  the  wagons 
and  ride  the  greater  part  of  the  night. 

"That  must  be  rough,"  remarked  Lew, 
as  he  sat  in  the  room,  talking  with  Girton, 
while  they  were  preparing  to  retire.  "I 
should  think  it  would  wear  them  out. " 

"Why  so?  Men  can  be  accustomed 
to  anything.  They  don't  mind  their  work 
any  more  than  you  do  yours. " 


224  LIMBER  LEW. 

"  But  when  do  they  get  time  to  sleep?  " 

"  Those  that  are  not  drivers  stow  them 
selves  away  in  some  of  the  wagons,  and 
sleep  as  soundly,  while  they  rattle  and 
jolt  over  the  stones,  as  if  they  were  in 
a  bed  like  this." 

"But  how  about  the  drivers?" 

"They  sleep  half  the  tune  when  the 
reins  are  in  their  hands,  and  you  know 
after  the  parade  is  over,  and  everything 
ready  for  you  folks,  they  can  find  plenty 
of  chances  to  get  two  or  three  hours' 
sleep." 

"I've  always  noticed  that  the  drivers 
of  circus-wagons  look  bright  and  wide 
awake  when  they're  coming  into  a  place, 
but  they  seem  half-asleep,  and  as  if 
they  had  just  crawled  out  of  a  hay-mow, 
when  they  start  out." 

"That's  about  their  condition.  When 
I  began  with  the  show  business,  I've 
driven  a  wagon  five  miles,  in  the  middle 
of  the  night,  as  sound  asleep  as  I  ever 
was  in  all  my  life,  and  that  on  a  strange 
road." 


ON   THE   ROAD.  225 

"How  did  your  horses  get  along?" 

"They  followed  those  ahead.  The  leader 
had  to  keep  his  wits  about  him;  for  if 
he  went  astray,  so  did  the  all  rest  of  us. 
You  did  very  well  to-night,  for  your  first 
performance,"  said  Girton,  abruptly  chang 
ing  the  subject. 

"Do  you  think  so?"  asked  Lew,  blushing 
at  the  remembrance  of  his  failure.  "I 
was  very  much  disappointed." 

"I  watched  you  from  the  opposite  side 
of  the  house,  and  was  well  pleased,  al 
though,  of  course,  I  expected  you  to  do 
much  better." 

"The  first  time  I  tried  it  I  struck  against 
Sam,  and  I  believe  he  did  it  on  purpose 
to  bother  me." 

"So  it  looked  to  me,  and  I  gave  him 
warning  that  if  I  saw  anything  more 
like  it  I  would  cart-whip  him.  You  need'nt 
have  any  fear  of  his  doing  it  again.  But 
come;  the  hour  is  late.  Let  us  sleep. " 

Girton  proved  he  was  accustomed  to  this 
rough  kind  of  life  by  falling  immediately 
into  slumber,  while  Lew  lay  awake  a  long 


226  LIMBER   LEW. 

time,  thinking  over  the  past,  the  present 
and  the  future.  At  intervals  he  sighed, 
and  something  like  a  homesick  feeling 
came  over  him,  the  result  of  the  disap 
pointment  of  the  evening.  Boy-like,  he 
had  hoped  he  would  acquit  himself  in 
a  manner  that  would  compel  the  praise 
of  all  the  performers.  Accustomed  as  he 
was  to  his  own  immeasurable  superiority 
over  his  playmates  at  school,  and  to  hear 
himself  complimented  by  all  his  friends 
who  saw  his  exploits,  it  was  a  strange 
and  new  experience  to  find  himself  among 
those  who  easily  excelled  him  in  these 
respects. 

Then  their  unsocial  disposition,  their 
indifference,  their  petty  jealousy,  the  fact 
that  he  had  "cut  loose  from  his  moorings," 
and  was  many  long  miles  from  home — 
all  these  united  to  make  him  sad  and 
gloomy. 

More  than  once  he  half  resolved  to 
steal  softly  out  of  bed,  don  his  clothes, 
go  on  tiptoe  down  stairs,  and  start  for 
home  again.  Could  he  have  been  assured 


ON   THE    ROAD.  227 

of  his  father's  forgiveness,  he  would  not 
have  hesitated.  But  he  knew  the  iron 
heart  of  his  parent  too  well  to  hope  he 
would  relent.  It  would  be  whipping  at 
his  hands,  whipping  from  Old  Gibbs,  and 
back  to  the  old  school  and  the  treadmill 
of  torture  against  which  his  soul  revolted. 

"Oh,  if  my  own  dear  mother  was  alive!" 
he  thought,  with  another  sigh.  "But  then, 
if  she  was  alive,  I  never  would  have  been 
here." 

With  his  mind  weighed  down  by  these 
mournful  reveries,  he  dropped  off  into 
sleep,  which  lasted  until  morning. 

When  he  arose,  there  was  quite  a  revul 
sion  of  his  feelings.  Something  of  his 
old  ambition  stirred  his  heart  again;  and 
a  remark  of  Girton's  to  the  effect  that 
he  hoped  their  buisness  would  continue 
as  good,  as  they  progressed  toward  the 
Southwest,  fired  him  with  the  anticipation 
of  new  scenes  he  would  see  in  those  coun 
tries,  of  which  he  had  heard  and  read  a 
great  deal. 

"And  maybe  we  shall  reach  Mexico," 


228  LIMBER   LEW. 

he  added  to  himself.  "I  don't  see  how 
I  could  have  wanted  to  go  back  home. 
I  can  learn  to  be  the  best  performer  in 
this  company,  and  I  will!" 

When  they  took  the  cars  for  then-  next 
destination,  Girton  gazed  at  the  sky. 

"I  don't  like  the  looks  of  the  weather," 
he  said.  "It.  is  threatening;  and  I  see 
Old  Probabilities  says  rain  may  be  ex 
pected." 

"You  can't  look  for  fair  weather  all 
the  time."  was  not  the  very  striking 
observation  of  Lew,  who  shared  the  seat 
with  him  in  the  car. 

"No;  but  we  like  to  have  all  we  can 
get.  It  rained  two  days  last  week,  and 
to-night  is  Saturday  night,  when  we  count 
upon  big  receipts." 

It  wasn't  ten  minutes  later,  when  the 
lad  observed  a  sprinkle  of  rain  against 
the  glass,  and  looking  out,  saw  there  was 
no  sunlight,  and  the  drops  were  falling 
here  and  there. 

Girton  observed  it  and  looked  grum. 

Lew  was  near  the  front  of  the  car,  and 


ON    THE    ROAD.  229 

as  he  looked  back,  he  saw  that  several 
of  the  lady  performers  were  at  the  op 
posite  portion.  Among  them  was  Seno- 
rita  Adualina,  in  whom  he  felt  such  a 
particular  interest;  but  she,  like  the  others, 
was  under  the  charge  of  the  matron,  and 
between  him  and  them  were  the  Hollo 
Brothers  and  several  more  actors,  who 
would  be  sure  to  jibe  him  if  he  gave  them 
the  least  cause  to  suspect  he  felt  any 
regard  for  her. 

The  clown,  ring-master  and  several  of 
their  cronies  were  in  the  smoking-car, 
singing,  joking,  smoking,  skylarking,  and 
having  a  "circus"  of  their  own. 

It  would  have  been  unsafe  for  Lew 
or  any  one  else  to  venture  there,  since 
they  had  affiliated  with  several  similar 
characters  among  the  passengers,  and  were 
bound  to  have  all  the  fun  possible.  They 
shied  two  or  three  cushions  at  the  conductor, 
who  kept  his  temper,  collected  their  tickets, 
and  then  left  them  alone. 

"Am  dis  de  ladies'  car?"  inquired 
a  colored  woman  at  one  of  the  stations. 


230  LIMBER    LEW. 

She  weighed  over  two  hundred  pounds, 
and  as  she  forced  herself  through  the 
door,  shoving  an  enormous  bundle,  that 
scraped  both  sides  of  the  entrance,  she 
puffed  from  exhaustion. 

"This  is  appropriated  to  colored  ladies 
with  bundles,"  the  clown  blandly  replied, 
as  he  arose  and  offered  her  a  seat  beside  him. 

"Dat's  me!"  she  added,  as  she  dropped 
ponderously  into  the  seat,  while  there 
was  a  smile  all  around  at  the  prospect 
of  some  sport. 

The  professional  jester,  kept  his  place, 
and  pretended  to  play  the  gallant. 

"  I  hope  smoke  is  not  disagreeable  to 
you?"  he  observed,  with  great  suavity, 
as  he  sent  an  enormous  volume  of  the 
blue  vapor  around  her  sable  countenance, 
while  the  apartment  was  so  thick  that 
the  wonder  was  how  any  one  could  breathe 
in  it. 

"Bress  your  soul,  no!  Jes'  hold  my 
bundle  while  I  light  my  pipe.  I  tink 
it  am  so  much  sweeter  dan  dem  cabbage- 
leaf  cigars. " 


ON    THE    ROAD.  231 

"Certainly — anything  to  oblige  you," 
replied  the  clown,  taking  the  bundle  in 
his  lap,  its  proportions  being  such  that 
the  rest  of  the  passengers  could  see  only 
his  head  above  it. 

The  colored  lady  produced  a  clay  pipe, 
as  black  as  coal,  then  crumpled  up  some 
plug  tobacco  in  the  palm  of  one  hand, 
by  rubbing  it  with  her  stubby  fingers. 
When  the  bowl  was  carefully  filled  and 
pressed  down,  she  said : 

"Now,  if  you'll  leave  me  de  loan  o]b 
dat  cigar,  I'll  be  fixed  all  hunky," 

He  handed  it  to  her,  with  the  politeness 
of  Beau  Brummel  himself. 

She  pressed  the  live  part  down  upon, 
the  tobacco,  moving  it  around  as  if  she 
meant  to  screw  it  into  the  bowl,  while  she 
sucked  at  the  stem  with  such  a  vigor 
that  her  eyes  seemed  to  protrude,  and 
the  smacking  of  her  bulbous  lips  could  be 
heard  through  the  car. 

When  at  last  she  had  succeeded,  she 
flung  the  half-smoked  cigar  on  the  floor, 
with  the  remark : 


232  LIMBER   LEW. 

"I    don's   s'pose   you   don't    want    dat 


no  more. ' 


At  this  the  whole  car  roared,  and  the 
clown  was  forced  to  join  them.  He  had 
been  fairly  beaten  so  far,  but  a  man  of 
his  resources  was  confident  of  speedily 
turning  the  tables. 

He  produced  another  cigar,  and  lighted 
It  from  the  match-safe  which  he  carried 
with  him. 

His  rough  life  enabled  him  to  stand 
almost  anything,  but  when  the  rank  per 
fume  of  the  plug  tobacco  from  the  strong 
clay  pipe  crept  into  his  face  and  nostrils, 
he  began  to  fear  he  had  met  more  than 
his  match;  but  he  was  determined  to 
brave  it  out. 

"I  s'pose  you  hain't  no  objection  to 
holding  dat  bundle  fur  awhile?"  she  asked, 
as  she  settled  down  into  a  comfortable 
position,  leaning  her  head  rather  affec 
tionately  toward  him. 

"Oh,  no!  I  assure  you  it's  a  positive 
pleasure.  May  I  inquire  what  you  have 
here?" 


ON   THE    ROAD.  233 

"Dem's  'bout  all  my  worldly  obsessions. 
I'm  going  down  to  Baldwinstown  to  tend 
de  sarcus." 

"Ah,  indeed!  I'm  glad  to  hear  it,  I'm 
one  of  the  performers." 

"Git  out!"  she  exclaimed,  raising  her 
head,  and  looking  incredulously  at  him. 
"Dey  wouldn't  hab  any  such  looking 
fool  as  you  dar!" 

The  laugh  was  again  against  the  jester,, 
who  took  a  ticket  from  his  pocket. 

"Allow  me,"  he  said,  courteously,  ex 
tending  it  to  her. 

She  tried  to  spell  it  out,  but  as  she  held 
it  upside  down,  she  was  unable  to  under 
stand  for  a  time  what  it  was. 

Finally  she  understood,  and  shoved  it 
into  her  pocket,  with  a  gleeful  look. 

"Much  'bleeged!  I  'spose  you  stole  dat; 
but  dat  don't  make  no  difference — I'll 
be  dar  to-night,  fur  all  it  am  rainin': 
and  I'll  watch  fur  you.  Ef  you  hab  been 
tryin'  to  deceive  me,  de  next  time  I  meets 
you,  I'll  pound  yer!" 

"Do  you  see  those  folks  so  ill-mannered 


234  LIMBER   LEW. 

as  to  laugh  at  us?"  the  clown  asked. 
Well,  I'm  going  to  teach  them  better. 
See  how  I  shall  serve  them!" 

With  this,  he  rose  to  his  feet,  and  hurled 
the  huge  bundle,  with  such  directness 
and  force  that  it  crushed  the  hat  of  the 
ring-master  over  his  eyes. 

The  victim  instantly  caught  it  up,  and 
flung  it  at  a  friend  across  the  aisle;  and 
it  then  went  the  rounds,  flying  hither  and 
thither,  like  a  foot-ball,  until  every  head 
in  the  car,  excepting  that  of  the  owner, 
had  been  banged  with  it. 

All  this  time  the  lady  sat  composedly 
smoking  her  pipe,  until  they  were  nearly 
exhausted,  when  she  remarked : 

"Try  and  be  keerful,  gemmen,  not  to 
bust  dat  open." 

"Why  not?"  asked  the  clown,  pausing 
with  it  poised  over  his  head,  ready  to 
throw  it  in  one  direction,  while  he  diverted 
suspicion  by  looking  in  another. 

"  'Cause  dem  clothes  war  gub  me  by 
de  last  small-pox  patient  dat  I  'tended, 
and  I  wouldn't  like  'em  to  get  loose. " 


ON    THE    ROAD.  235 

With  a  howl  of  terror,  the  poor  fellow 
dropped  the  package,  as  if  it  were  a  lighted 
bombshell,  and  every  man  rushed  headlong 
out  of  the  car. 

The  colored  lady  waited  till  they  were 
all  gone,  when  she  composedly  picked 
up  her  property,  and  deposited  it  upon 
the  seat  in  front  of  her,  remarking  to 
herself,  with  a  chuckle: 

"De  gemmen  didn't  wait  till  I  could 
tell  'em  dat  we  arterwards  found  out  it 
wasn't  de  small-pox,  but  de  fever  an' 
agur  what  was  de  matter. " 


236  LIMBER  LEW. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

A   ROW   IN   PROSPECT. 

WHEN  the  circus  performers  reached 
their  station,  the  rain  was  falling 
steadily,  and  the  prospect  was  dis 
mal  indeed.     It  was  quite  a  distance  to  the 
hotel,  and  despite  the   number   of  horses 
belonging  to  the  company,   none  but  the 
ladies  were  provided  with  a  carriage,  all 
the  others  walking  through  the  mud  and 
storm. 

The  drizzling  rain  had  begun  about 
ten  o'  clock,  and  the  parade  through  the 
town  was  made  in  the  midst  of  it;  so, 
with  scarcely  an  exception,  the  participants 
were  wet  and  ill-natured.  It  was  drizzling 
still  more  steadily  when  the  canvass  went 
up,  the  men  all  the  time  working  in  that 
dispirited  manner  which  showed  that  they 
considered  it  labor  thrown  away;  for, 
in  the  first  place,  after  it  was  firmly  fixed, 


A   ROW   IN   PROSPECT.  237 

**» 

it  could  stand  but  a  short  time,  when  it 
must  be  taken  down  and  removed.  This 
was  the  rule,  however;  but  the  absurdity 
of  the  thing  lay  in  the  fact  that  everybody 
knew  the  attendance  would  not  pay  ex 
penses,  and  so  where  was  the  sense  of 
giving  the  entertainment  at  all? 

But  there  was  no  choice  in  the  matter. 
The  announcements  were  made  weeks  ahead 
and  had  it  been  certain  that  the  spectators 
would  not  number  twenty  persons,  the 
exhibition  would  have  been  given  all  the 
same.  So  the  menagerie  wagons  were 
drawn  up  in  position,  the  immense  canvas 
went  aloft,  and  the  arrangements  were 
completed  for  the  afternoon  performance. 

While  this  was  going  on,  Lew  Fenwick 
and  Little  Tommy  were  in  a  private 
room,  "reading  up"  their  part,  under  the 
eye  of  Girton,  who,  standing  near  by, 
closely  watched  the  movements  of  each, 
criticised  every  error,  and  gave  suggestions 
that  were  of  great  use  to  both.  The 
shock  received  the  night  before  from  the 
fall  of  the  little  fellow  upon  Lew's  breast 


238  LIMBER   LEW. 

was  only  temporary,  he  feeling  not  the 
slightest  trace  of  it  to-day.  There  was 
a  slight  ache  in  some  of  his  joints,  the 
result  of  the  unusual  exercise  of  the  last 
day  or  two;  but  it  was  not  enough  to 
interfere  with  his  freedom  of  movement, 
and  the » hour's  exercise  gave  both  the 
lads  a  skill  and  self-confidence  that  were 
sure  not  to  be  disappointed. 

At  two  o'clock,  the  hour  for  beginning 
the  afternoon  performance,  the  rain  was 
falling  in  that  easy,  don't-be-in-a-hurry 
fashion,  which  proved  that  it  had  set 
in  for  the  day.  Through  the  cheerless 
wet,  the  actors  made  their  way  to  the 
canvas,  where  they  hastily  prepared  to 
do  their  part. 

When  the  show  began,  the  attendance 
numbered  a  little  over  two  hundred,  and 
scattered  here  and  there  upon  the  immense 
array  of  pine  benches,  the  number  seemed 
scarcely  half  as  many.  They  were  all 
men,  not  a  lady  being  among  them,  and 
the  majority  had  their  trowsers  tucked 
hi  the  tops  of  their  boots,  were  splashed 


A   BOW   IX   PROSPECT.  239 

with  mud  and  water,  and  were  crunching 
peanuts.  They  sat  stolidly  looking  at 
the  actors,  as  if  they  had  no  earthly 
interest  in  them,  and  considered  them 
selves  martyrs,  who  had  come  from  a 
sense  of  duty,  and  if  their  strength  would 
permit,  they  hoped  to  sit  it  out  to  the  end. 

Girton  would  allow  no  cutting  of  the 
acts.  Everything  was  given  as  con 
scientiously  as  if  an  audience  of  five  thou 
sand  were  present,  and  it  lasted  precisely 
two  hours  and  a  half,  as  it  always  did. 
Girton  was  one  of  those  men  who  looked 
to  the  future,  and  knew  the  value  of 
reputation.  The  two  hundred  spectators 
would  not  fail  to  refer  to  the  excellent 
character  of  the  exhibition,  and  should 
Simpson's  Circus  and  Menagerie  visit  this 
city  the  succeeding  year,  and  the  weather 
proved  fair,  they  would  reap  the  benefit 
of  their  honesty. 

Just  as  the  clown  had  secured  an  awk 
ward  country  boy  from  the  audience  to 
ride  the  mules,  his  quick  eye  caught 
sight  of  a  familiar  figure.  It  was  that 


240  LIMBER   LEW. 

of  the  colored  woman,  with  her  enormous 
bundle  before  her.  She  waddled  through 
the  entrance,  and  as  she  emerged  into 
the  capacious  interior,  paused  for  a  moment 
and  looked  about  her  with  an  inquiring 
air.  She  was  searching  for  a  seat,  however, 
and  being  struck  with  the  appearance  of 
the  unoccupied  reserved  ones,  she  stowed 
herself  among  them,  placing  her  bundle 
beside  her,  as  when  riding  in  the  car. 

Every  attache  of  the  company  knew 
the  story  of  that  bundle  and  the  smoking- 
car.  When  the  men  tumbled  headlong 
into  the  next  carriage,  they  were  as  affright 
ed  as  if  their  own  elephant  had  gone 
mad  and  broken  loose  among  them.  They 
told  the  conductor,  and  he,  like  a  martyr, 
went  forward  and  made  his  investigations 
in  the  interest  of  humanity. 

The  result  was  the  discovery  of  the 
truth,  and  prolonged  merriment  followed 
when  they  learned  how  cleverly  they 
had  been  outdone. 

There  was  no  little  amusement  among 
the  performers  when  they  recognized  her, 


A  ROW   IN   PROSPECT.  241 

perched  upon  the  choicest  reserved  seat, 
smoking  the  same  pipe  that  had  well 
nigh  strangled  those  in  her  immediate 
vicinity  during  the  early  part  of  the  day. 

Girton,  who  happened  to  be  standing 
near,  did  his  best  to  interest  her,  and  told 
her  that  the  man  who  was  making  them 
all  laugh  was  the  one  that  had  played 
the  gallant  to  her  on  the  train. 

She  looked  keenly  at  him,  but  could 
not  make  certain  of  his  identity  through 
his  paint  and  odd  dress. 

"Dat  looks  a  little  like  him,"  said  she, 
doubtingly;  "but  all  you  white  folks  am 
sich  orful  liars  dat  dar  is  no  tellin'  when 
to  b'lebe  yer." 

Her  curiosity  was  aroused,  and  when 
the  clown  glanced  toward  her  again,  he 
saw  her  reach  out  and  crook  her  stubby 
finger  for  him  to  approach. 

He  completed  the  particular  duty  upon 
which  he  was  engaged,  and  then,  leaving 
the  ring,  advanced  respectfully  toward 
her,  smiling  and  bowing,  as  if  in  the  august 
presence  of  the  Queen  of  Ethiopia. 


242  LIMBER   LEW. 

Not  until  he  was  within  arm's  length 
did  she  recognize  him,  and  then  a  smile 
lit  up  her  sable  countenance. 

"Yas,  dat  am  de  same  poor  ole  chap  dat 
got  so  skeered  when  I  made  a  mistake  and 
called  it  small-pox,  'stead  ob  fever  an'  agur." 

This  was  about  the  only  pleasantry 
that  relieved  the  dullness  of  the  afternoon 
performance,  and  the  actors  were  glad 
enough  to  get  back  to  their  quarters,  and 
obtain  a  little  rest  before  the  work  of  the 
evening  began. 

The  city  in  which  they  were  to  give  the 
Saturday  night's  exhibition  was  the  largest 
they  had  visited  since  Lew  joined  the 
circus.  It  seemed  to  him,  as  he  made 
his  way  through  the  streets,  that  it  con 
tained  a  rougher  element  than  any  he 
had  yet  seen. 

There  were  more  men  intoxicated,  and 
he  heard  profanity  in  every  direction. 
The  bar-rooms  appeared  to  be  crowded, 
and  more  than  once  a  fear  came  over  him 
of  trouble  with  some  of  these  men  later 
in  the  evening. 


A   ROW   IN   PROSPECT.  243 

Reaching  his  own  hotel,  the  crowd  was 
found  to  be  still  greater.  Believing  he 
would  not  be  recognized,  Lew  took  a 
seat  in  one  corner  of  the  bar-room,  as 
far  removed  from  them  as  was  possible. 
There  was  the  usual  loud,  coarse  talking 
and  drinking  going  on,  some  of  the  men 
showing  a  bellicose  disposition;  but  no 
one  offered  to  disturb  him,  and  he  re 
mained  unnoticed  during  the  half-hour 
spent  in  looking  and  listening. 

Fully  a  dozen  times,  however,  he  heard 
different  persons  make  threats  of  "  going 
through  the  show."  There  seemed  to  be 
no  grounds  for  enmity  against  the  estab 
lishment;  but  the  truth  was,  this  was 
Saturday  night,  and  most  of  the  men 
had  received  their  weekly  wages,  and 
were  spoiling  for  a  row. 

The  lad  was  not  a  little  frightened  at  what 
he  had  heard,  and  when  convinced  that  there 
was  nothing  more  to  learn,  he  hunted  out 
Girton,  and  told  him  all  he  knew. 

The  latter  heard  him  through,  and 
quietly  laughed. 


244  LIMBER   LEW. 

"Wait  till  we  get  down  toward  Texas 
and  Mexico,  if  you  want  to  see  fun  in  the 
shape  of  bowie  knives  and  revolvers.  We 
always  expect  to  lose  two  or  three  of  our 
men  there.  I  don't  suppose  there's  a 
place  where  we  perform  that  the  people 
don't  talk  and  threaten  in  that  style. 
We're  used  to  it,  and  our  men  are  ready 
They've  cleaned  out  more  than  one  mob, 
and  like  the  fun." 

The  assurance  of  his  friend  relieved  the 
fears  of  Lew,  but  it  cannot  be  said  the 
remarks  added  much  to  his  pleasant  an 
ticipations  of  a  visit  to  the  extreme  South 
west. 

He  had  not  suspected,  up  to  this  time, 
that  revolvers  and  bowie-knives  formed 
a  part  of  the  staple  amusements  in  that 
section,  although  there  was  something 
in  the  knowledge  that  the  men  were  pre 
pared  for  such  emergencies. 

When  night  came,  the  thin,  drizzling 
rain  was  still  coming  down,  and  the  dark 
ness  was  like  that  of  Egypt.  Although 
it  was  not  expected  that  anything  like 


A   EOW   IN   PROSPECT.  245 

a  paying  crowd  would  appear,  yet  it  was 
certain  to  be  larger  than  during  the  after 
noon. 

If  Girton  treated  the  fears  of  Lew 
with  levity,  he  was  wise  enough  to  look 
into  the  matter.  The  result  was  the 
conviction  that  there  would  probably  be 
a  disturbance — nothing  however,  more  than 
he  could  suppress  himself,  without  calling 
in  the  help  of  the  police — so  he  quietly 
warned  his  men  to  be  prepared,  cautioning 
them  against  firing  their  pistols,  unless 
compelled  so  to  do  to  save  their  lives. 
They  were  instructed  simply  to  guard 
against  any  rush,  and  to  quiet  matters 
in  the  " usual  way." 

It  was  a  favorite  custom  with  Girton 
to  station  himself  somewhere  among  the 
spectators,  and  move  hither  and  thither, 
watching  actors  and  people, 

He  was  always  in  the  dress  of  a  citizen, 
generally  affecting  a  plain  garb,  that  his 
identity  should  remain  unsuspected  by 
those  whom  he  wished  to  keep  under 
his  eye. 


246  LIMBER   LEW. 

He  sauntered  hither  and  thither  to 
night,  on  the  alert  for  any  hostile  signs 
among  the  roughs,  but  he  was  not  seriously 
alarmed,  for  he  had  seen  a  great  deal  of 
this  thing  in  his  experience. 

About  the  time  of  opening,  there  came 
a  slight  lull  in  the  fall  of  rain;  and  as  the 
visitors  began  straggling  in,  a  little  delay 
was  permitted;  but  no  American  audience 
will  wait  willingly  a  second  beyond  the 
appointed  time,  and  the  people  set  up 
such  a  shouting,  whistling,  and  cat-calling, 
that  Girton  saw  it  was  hardly  safe  to 
disappoint  them,  so  he  gave  the  signal 
for  the  performance  to  begin. 

Not  until  the  riders  were  in  the  ring, 
and  circling  about  at  full  speed,  was  there 
anything  like  order,  and  then  a  portion 
of  the  multitude  were  more  disposed  to 
deride  than  applaud. 

Girton  noted  that  those  malcontents, 
who  were  all  men  and  large  boys,  were 
grouped  on  the  seats  near  to  the  per 
former's  tents,  where  they  had  probably 
gathered  to  obtain  the  best  view  of  the 


A   ROW   IN   PROSPECT.  247 

ladies  as  they  came  and  went.  Accord 
ingly  he  sauntered  over  in  that  direction, 
and  gave  the  sign  to  his  men,  scattered 
here  and  there,  to  be  ready  to  "  repel 
boarders." 

Matters  moved  without  any  particular 
friction,  and  there  might  have  been  no 
disturbance,  but  for  a  mishap,  against 
which  Girton  unfortunately  had  forgotten 
to  guard.  Perkins,  the  noted  bare-back 
rider,  was  still  intoxicated,  and  as  the 
shortest  way  to  get  over  the  trouble, 
his  employer  concluded  to  leave  him  alone 
until  his  debauch  was  finished. 

When  the  time  arrived  for  his  appear 
ance,  as  per  programme,  the  ring-master 
stepped  forward  to  beg  the  indulgence 
of  the  large  and  appreciative  audience, 
as,  owing  to  a  severe  indisposition,  the 
renowned  Wandilini  was  unable  to  appear. 
In  his  place  they  would  substitute  the 
famous  young  acrobat,  Senor  Alfonso,  and 
Master  Tom,  who— 

He  had  reached  this  point,  when  the 
renowned  Wandilini  galloped  from  the 


248  LIMBER   LEW. 

tent  upon  his  horse,  and  came  into  the 
ring  with  the  purpose  of  going  through 
the  performance  himself,  as  it  had  been 
advertised  he  would  do. 

Girton  saw  all  this,  and  his  heart  sank. 
He  knew  what  the  fellow  was  when  in 
toxicated,  but  he  was  too  far  away,  and 
it  was  too  late  to  stop  him. 

The  people  recognized  and  greeted  him 
with  hurrahs,  and  the  alarmed  director 
desperately  hoped  he  would  get  through 
his  part  in  some  manner  without  making 
any  serious  difficulty. 

The  ring-master  stepped  out  of  the 
way,  and  Perkins  was  left  to  do  as  he 
chose,  the  people  not  suspecting,  as  yet, 
his  condition,  and  looking  for  great  things 
from  him. 

After  going  about  the  ring  a  short  time, 
in  the  usual  fashion,  his  steed  being  without 
a  saddle,  the  rider  rose  to  his  feet,  as  he 
had  done  hundreds  of  times.  He  had 
scarcely  done  so,  when  he  slipped  off  as 
awkwardly  as  the  veriest  tyro.  The  party 
of  roughs  hooted,  and  Perkins,  apparently 


A   ROW   IN   PROSPECT.  249 

not  hearing  them,  clambered  upon  his 
astonished  horse  again. 

The  next  minute  over  he  went,  in  a 
style  so  exasperating  to  Girton  that  he 
strode  toward  the  ring,  with  the  purpose 
of  compelling  the  man  to  leave  it.  The 
roughs  were  howling  and  hooting  so  fur 
iously  that,  stupefied  as  he  was,  he  com 
prehended  the  situation,  and  started  for 
the  tent. 

But  the  cries  angered  him,  and  he  shook 
his  fist  at  the  noisy  group,  and  called  out : 

"I  can  whip  the  whole  lot  of  you,  and 
I  dare  you  to  give  me  a  chance. " 

The  words  were  yet  in  his  mouth,  when 
fully  twenty  of  the  party  made  a  rush 
for  him,  encouraged  by  the  sight  of  his 
running  away.  Instead  of  stopping  on 
the  outside,  the  roughs  made  a  dash  di 
rectly  into  the  tents  of  the  male  and 
female  performers — the  two  being  sepa 
rated  only  by  a  partition. 

The  ladies,  with  screams  of  terror,  ran 
out  into  the  rain  and  darkness,  and  the 
wildest  scene  followed. 


250  LIMBER  LEW. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

LOST    COMPANIONS. 

SIMPSON'S  Circus  and  Menagerie,  dur 
ing  its  performance,  was  located  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  city,  on  a  sort  of  com 
mons  that  had  been  appropriated  to  such 
purposes  for  years.  When,  therefore,  the 
disturbance  broke  out,  the  three  policemen 
on  duty  were  altogether  too  weak  to  quell 
it,  and  before  assistance  could  be  summoned 
from  the  authorities,  the  mob  would  ex 
haust  itself. 

But,  as  we  have  intimated,  Girton  had 
prepared  his  own  men  against  such  an 
emergency,  though  it  came  in  altogether 
a  different  form  from  what  was  expected. 

The  usual  programme  was  for  some  one 
to  attempt  to  crawl  under  the  canvas; 
the  man  on  duty,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
would  " baste"  him  with  a  coil  of  rope 


LOST    COMPANIONS.  251 

or  cart-whip,  when  his  friends  would  take 
it  up,  and  the  fight  was  on. 

The  circus  force,  however,  was  a  mobile 
one,  and  by  the  time  the  twenty  assailants 
were  in  the  tent,  about  the  same  number 
of  sturdy  employees,  summoned  by  the 
war-cry  "Hey,  Rube!"  were  at  their  backs, 
eager  for  the  fray. 

Although  all  the  ladies,  children  and 
most  of  the  male  performers  fled,  yet 
a  half-dozen  stood  their  ground  and 
joined  their  friends  in  the  rear.  They 
included  the  clown,  ring-master  and 
several  of  the  acrobats,  whose  dexterity 
and  skill  were  turned  to  the  best  ac 
count.  As  the  disorganized  mob  came 
tumbling  in,  they  were  assailed  right 
and  left.  By  the  time  the  foremost,  who 
had  been  knocked  down,  had  scrambled 
to  their  feet,  Girton  and  his  men  took 
them  on  the  flank  and  rear,  and  in  less 
than  five  minutes  the  party  was  dis 
astrously  routed.  They  were  kicked 
cuffed,  pounded  and  tumbled  headlong 
out  of  the  tents,  so  utterly  discomfited 


252  LIMBER   LEW. 

that  not  one  of  them  had  the  heart  to 
propose  a  renewal  of  the  attack. 

The  great  danger  was  that  many  others 
might  join  them  in  the  attack,  and  the 
fight  become  general:  but  as  the  roughs 
formed  a  party  by  themselves,  the  spec 
tators  rejoiced  at  their  prompt  and  utter 
overthrow. 

The  performance,  for  the  evening,  how 
ever,  was  broken  up.  Two- thirds  of  the 
actors  were  gone,  and  it  was  not  expected 
that  they  could  be  gathered  together 
again  before  the  morrow.  So,  after  some 
feats  in  horsemanship  by  those  that  re 
mained,  the  exhibition  was  closed  and 
the  people  began  leaving  the  place. 

To  say  that  Girton  was  angered  would 
not  express  his  feelings.  The  whole  trouble 
had  come  from  the  drunkenness  of  Perkins, 
and  the  director's  resentment  was  aimed 
mainly  against  himself,  because  he  had 
not  kicked  him  out  long  ago. 

When  the  performers  started  homeward, 
they  kept  well  together,  the  better  to 
repel  any  attack  from  the  roughs.  The 


LOST   COMPANIONS.  253 

rain  still  fell,  and  the  night  was  impene 
trably  dark. 

Off  to  the  left,  the  star-like  twinkle 
of  the  lights  of  the  town  guided  them, 
while  their  own  numerous  lamps  were 
kept  burning  the  night  through,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  men  who  were  left  to  protect 
the  property.  Thus,  despite  the  gloom, 
all  were  enabled  to  make  their  way  without 
trouble. 

Upon  reaching  the  hotel,  most  of  thoue 
who  had  fled  were  found  there;  but  th« 
matron,  as  she  was  called,  Senorita  Adua- 
lina,  all  three  of  the  Rollo  boys  and  Lew 
Fenwick  were  missing. 

in  the  course  of  half  an  hour,  the  Rollos 
put  hi  an  appearance,  reporting  that  they 
had  seen  and  knew  nothing  of  the  others 
since  the  breaking  out  of  the  "row. " 

"You  see  the  matron  is  with  her,  and 
they  are  all  safe.  Finding  herself  quite 
a  distance  from  the  hotel  and  the  night 
dark  and  threatening,  she  will  seek  lodgings 
elsewhere,  and  join  us  in  the  morning. " 

These  words  were  uttered  by  the  director 


254  LIMBER   LEW. 

to  Johnson,  one  of  the  teamsters,  whose 
consideration  was  based  on  the  fact  that 
he  was  the  proprietor  of  Adualina,  and 
had  hired  her  out,  several  years  before, 
to  the  company,  as  his  daughter,  whom 
he  had  trained  for  this  special  business. 

Johnson  himself  was  of  no  account, 
but  his  relation  to  the  beautiful  and  ac 
complished  child  caused  his  engagement 
in  the  capacity  named,  he  insisting  that 
he  must  always  be  near,  to  guard  the 
interests  of  his  beloved  child. 

He  was  a  surly,  ill-natured  fellow,  so 
absolutely  the  antipodes  of  the  spiritual- 
looking  girl,  that  many  doubted  their 
relationship;  but  it  was  not  the  province 
of  circus  proprietors  and  agents  to  ask 
questions  that  might  result  to  their  own 
disadvantage. 

Johnson  saw  how  well  the  matron  looked 
after  the  girl,  so  he  generally  permitted 
her  to  remain  in  her  charge,  he  contenting 
himself  with  loafing  and  lounging,  when 
not  busy  with  his  duties. 

He   had   come   down   with   Girton   and 


LOST   COMPANIONS.  255 

the  rest,  to  assure  himself  of  the  safety 
of  his  daughter,  and  was  unwilling 
to  go  back  until  some  tidings  were 
gained. 

The  cheery  words  of  the  director,  how 
ever,  reassured  him,  and  he  slouched  off 
in  the  darkness,  while  Girton  lit  a  cigar, 
and  seated  himself  in  his  room,  to  await 
the  return  of  his  friends. 

"It  strikes  me,"  he  said  to  himself, 
as  he  tried  to  recall  the  confused  picture 
that  met  his  gaze,  when  he  rushed  into 
the  tent  to  the  assistance  of  the  performers, 
"that  the  matron  struck  off  in  one  direction 
and  Adualina  in  another,  followed  closely 
by  Limber  Lew.  That's  the  impression 
I  have,  though  I  may  be  wrong.  I 
know  he  feels  a  great  interest  in  her, 
which  he  does  not  suspect  I  have  noticed, 
and  the  chances  are  he  has  followed  her, 
and  they  are  off  somewhere,  with  the 
distracted  matron  hunting  for  her,  and 
not  helping  her  at  all.  However,  it  is 
not  likely  that  any  trouble  can  befall 
them  in  a  city  like  this,  where  they  can 


256  LIMBER   LEW. 

easily  secure  protection — Hello!  there  they 
come!" 

He  hastened  down  stairs  to  see  who 
it  was  that  had  arrived. 

There  was  the  splashed,  wet,  panting, 
white-faced  matron,  who  could  only  gasp, 
as  she  saw  the  director. 

"  Where's  Adualina?" 

"Hasn't  come  back  yet." 

She  clasped  her  hands,  threw  her  head 
back,  and  seemed  on  the  point  of  fainting; 
but  Girton  knew  she  would  not,  and 
composedly  waited  until  she  recovered 
her  self-possession. 

"When  did  you  see  her  last? "  he  asked. 

"Not  since  we  all  ran  out  of  the  tent. 
I  have  been  searching  for  hours  through 
the  streets,  but  cannot  gain  the  least 
trace  of  her.  Is  there  anybody  else  miss 
ing?" 

"Limber  Lew." 

"The  new  boy?" 

"Yes." 

"I  don't  like  that,"  she  said,  with 
a  troubled  air,  "When  these  youngsters 


LOST   COMPANIONS.  257 

get  a  chance  to  talk  together,  there's  no 
telling  what  plans  they  may  get  up. " 

"You  needn't  be  afraid  to  trust  him," 
observed  Girton.  "He  is  a  manly  fellow, 
and  she  is  lucky  in  having  him  to  look 
after  her. " 

In  the  meantime,  Lew  Fenwick  was 
doing  his  best  toward  "looking  after " 
Adualina. 

When  the  mob  rushed  into  the  tent, 
he  was  directly  in  front  of  them,  and 
hearing  her  scream,  he  darted  forward, 
in  the  hope  of  being  of  some  use  in  the 
frightful  peril. 

She  was  hardly  less  nimble  of  movement 
than  he,  and  would  have  escaped  him, 
altogether  had  he  not  taken  the  same 
course,  and  called  out,  in  a  hushed  voice  • 

"Wait  a  minute — I  am  your  friend!" 

A  second  or  two  later,  came  the  cautious 
question : 

"Where  are  you?" 

The  voice  was  at  one  side,  the  girl 
having  paused,  and  she  was  afraid  that 
he  would  pass  her  in  the  gloom. 


260  LIMBER  LEW. 

lamp,  or  the  frontier  of  the  city,  as  it 
may  be  said,  was  reached,  and  they  began 
to  see  where  they  were  going. 

The  attention  of  Lew  was  so  strained 
in  guarding  against  accident,  that  while 
on  their  way  to  this  point  he  exchanged 
hardly  a  dozen  words  with  his  friend; 
but  now,  when  this  mental  pressure  was 
lifted,  he  began  to  think  more  about 
her. 

As  they  approached  the  glare  of  the 
street  lamp,  he  was  reminded  of  two  exceed 
ingly  disagreeable  truths.  One  was  that 
it  was  still  raining,  and  the  other  was 
that  both  he  and  Adualina  were  in  their 
circus  suits.  He  had  on  his  tights  and 
spangled  waistcoat,  while  she  wore  her 
fleecy,  gauzy  dress,  her  tights  and  tiny 
slippers.  The  ground  over  which  they 
had  just  come  was  wet  and  muddy,  so 
that  their  unpleasant  condition  can  be 
understood. 

To  walk  the  streets,  all  the  way  to  the 
hotel,  thus  attired,  would  attract  the 
attention  of  hundreds,  and  was  a  gauntlet 


LOST  COMPANIONS.  261 

from  which  both  shrank  with  terror.  They 
could  not  run  it. 

What  was  to  be  done? 

Having  doffed  his  citizen's  garb,  Lew 
was  without  a  penny,  and  it  was  not  to 
be  supposed  that  Adualina  was  any  better 
off,  consequently  there  was  no  means  of 
providing  themselves  with  a  conveyance. 

"  We'll  see  whether  we  can't  get  lodging 
until  morning,"  said  Lew.  "Some  of  the 
folks  here  will  accommodate  us,  I  think, 
if  I  agree  to  pay  them  for  it. " 

"I  hope  they  will,  for  it  will  kill  me 
to  walk  through  the  streets  in  this  dress," 
replied  the  modest  girl. 

They  went  a  little  further,  until  they 
came  opposite  a  cottage  standing  some 
distance  from  the  street,  and  from  whose 
windows  lights  were  shining. 

"We'll  try  it  here,"  said  he,  as  he  groped 
about  until  he  found  the  latch  and  entered, 
she  following  timidly,  and  both  hi  dread 
of  dogs. 

The  heavy  knocker  was  sounded  several 
times  before  an  answer  came.  Then  a 


262  LIMBER   LEW. 

venerable  lady,  in  cap  and  spectacles 
opened  the  door.  Lew  took  this  as  an 
encouraging  sign,  and  hurriedly  and  suc 
cinctly  made  known  his  situation,  and 
asked  that  they  might  be  allowed  to  stay, 
promising  to  pay  her  therefor  in  the 
morning. 

When  he  had  finished,  the  old  lady 
leaned  over  and  said,  "What?"  and  Lew 
had  to  go  over  it  again,  all  in  a  louder 
voice  than  before.  The  instant  she  un 
derstood  their  situation,  she  urged  them 
to  enter  in  so  cordial  a  manner  that  they 
did  not  think  of  declining. 

She  led  the  way  into  a  cosy  sitting- 
room,  where  sat  another  woman,  evi 
dently  the  twin-sister  of  the  old  lady. 
They  were  attired  precisely  alike, 
both  wore  spectacles,  arid  for  the  life  of 
him,  Lew  could  not  distinguish  them  apart. 

Sister  Tabitha,  however,  had  the  ad 
vantage  over  sister  Ruth,  in  that  her 
sense  of  hearing  was  unimpaired,  so  that 
conversation  was  easy.  Had  Lew  Fenwick 
.searched  the  city  over,  he  could  not  have 


LOST   COMPANIONS.  263 

stumbled  upon  a  couple  of  truer  Samaritans. 
As  soon  as  they  recovered  from  their 
first  shock  of  amazement,  there  was  not 
too  much  for  them  to  do.  They  seemed 
somewhat  awed  at  first  at  the  sight  of 
two  real  live  circus  performers;  but  it 
did  not  prevent  their  charity  from  as 
suming  an  active  and  sensible  shape. 

Adualina  was  taken  to  an  adjoining 
room,  her  wet  garments,  slippers  and 
stockings  removed,  and  she  was  encased 
in  a  suit,  which,  if  it  was  plain  and  coarse, 
and  rather  ill-fitting,  was  nevertheless  the 
ideal  of  comfort  and  ease.  The  shoes 
were  "dumpers,"  but,  united  with  the 
woolen  stockings,  they  helped  to  make 
her  situation  as  pleasant  as  can  be  imagined. 

There  was  more  difficulty  in  getting 
Lew  into  a  suitable  rig.  Considerable 
hunting  was  necessary,  but  it  was  ac 
complished  at  last;  and  when  he  came 
smilingly  back  into  the  sitting-room,  it 
was  in  a  coarse,  awkward  suit,  but  which 
like  the  girl's  was  scrupulously  clean  and 
dry. 


264  LIMBER   LEW. 

There  was  a  general  laugh,  but  the 
gratitude  of  the  two  visitors  was  deep, 
and  they  appreciated  the  Providence  that 
had  led  them  to  this  place,  where  they 
were  received  without  questioning,  as  if 
they  were  a  couple  of  lost  children  come 
home  again. 

Ruth  and  Tabitha,  as  we  have  in 
timated,  were  sisters.  Both  were  widows, 
in  good  circumstances,  and  each  had  several 
children  grown  up  and  married;  but  they 
preferred  living  by  themselves,  in  this 
manner,  as  they  were  surrounded  by  friends, 
hard  by  their  favorite  church,  and  with 
no  earthly  fear  of  disturbance  from  any 
one. 

It  was  rare  that  some  of  the  children 
or  grand-children  were  not  present  with 
them,  although  it  so  happened  that  the 
couple  were  alone  that  night. 

The  suits  donned  by  their  visitors  had 
been  shed  in  installments,  years  before, 
by  those  who  now  had  Children  of  their 
own  big  enough  to  wear  them. 

By   the   time  Adualina   and   Lew  were 


LOST    COMPANIONS.  265 

seated  again,  a  supper  was  prepared  for 
them,  and  they  were  invited,  or  rather 
commanded,  to  sit  by  and  eat.  This 
was  done,  and  as  the  evening  progressed, 
the  four  found  themselves  once  more  in 
the  cosy,  tidy  dining-room. 

Lew  was  debating  whether  he  ought 
not  to  make  his  way  to  the  hotel,  and  let 
Girton  know  how  matters  had  gone;  but 
he  dissuaded  himself  from  the  duty  by 
reflecting  that  it  was  Saturday  night, 
and  nothing  would  be  done  toward  leaving 
the  place  until  the  following  midnight, 
so  no  real  inconvenience  could  result  from 
their  absence  until  morning,  and  this 
delightful  home  wooed  him  to  its  embrace. 

Furthermore,  the  friends  of  Adualina 
had  no  cause  for  worriment.  She  and 
Lew  being  absent  at  the  same  time  would 
show  that  they  were  in  each  other's  com 
pany,  and  they  were  not  in  a  barbarous 
country,  where  they  were  likely  to  be 
massacred  if  found  away  from  their  own 
door-steps.  Girton,  Johnson  and  the  ma 
tron  could  sleep  soundly,  well  knowing 


264  LIMBER  LEW. 

There  was  a  general  laugh,  but  the 
gratitude  of  the  two  visitors  was  deep, 
and  they  appreciated  the  Providence  that 
had  led  them  to  this  place,  where  they 
were  received  without  questioning,  as  if 
they  were  a  couple  of  lost  children  come 
home  again. 

Ruth  and  Tabitha,  as  we  have  in 
timated,  were  sisters.  Both  were  widows, 
in  good  circumstances,  and  each  had  several 
children  grown  up  and  married;  but  they 
preferred  living  by  themselves,  in  this 
manner,  as  they  were  surrounded  by  friends, 
hard  by  their  favorite  church,  and  with 
no  earthly  fear  of  disturbance  from  any 
one. 

It  was  rare  that  some  of  the  children 
or  grand-children  were  not  present  with 
them,  although  it  so  happened  that  the 
couple  were  alone  that  night. 

The  suits  donned  by  their  visitors  had 
been  shed  in  installments,  years  before, 
by  those  who  now  had  (Children  of  their 
own  big  enough  to  wear  them. 

By   the   time   Adualina   and   Lew   were 


LOST   COMPANIONS.  265 

seated  again,  a  supper  was  prepared  for 
them,  and  they  were  invited,  or  rather 
commanded,  to  sit  by  and  eat.  This 
was  done,  and  as  the  evening  progressed, 
the  four  found  themselves  once  more  in 
the  cosy,  tidy  dining-room. 

Lew  was  debating  whether  he  ought 
not  to  make  his  way  to  the  hotel,  and  let 
Girton  know  how  matters  had  gone;  but 
he  dissuaded  himself  from  the  duty  by 
reflecting  that  it  was  Saturday  night, 
and  nothing  would  be  done  toward  leaving 
the  place  until  the  following  midnight, 
so  no  real  inconvenience  could  result  from 
their  absence  until  morning,  and  this 
delightful  home  wooed  him  to  its  embrace. 

Furthermore,  the  friends  of  Adualina 
had  no  cause  for  worriment.  She  and 
Lew  being  absent  at  the  same  time  would 
show  that  they  were  in  each  other's  com 
pany,  and  they  were  not  in  a  barbarous 
country,  where  they  were  likely  to  be 
massacred  if  found  away  from  their  own 
door-steps.  Girton,  Johnson  and  the  ma 
tron  could  sleep  soundly,  well  knowing 


266  LIMBER   LEW. 

that  the  "child  wonder"  would  come 
safely  back  to  them  on  the  morrow. 

"I  suppose  I  ought  to  go  to  the  hotel, 
and  let  them  know  how  things  are," 
said  Lew,  introducing  the  subject  of  his 
own  accord;  "but  it  is  so  pleasant  here 
that  I  hate  to  leave." 

"Had  you  any  idea  of  going  out  in 
the  storm  to-night?"  asked  grandmother 
Tabitha,  with  an  expression  of  surprise. 
"It  would  be  awful!  I  wouldn't  allow 
it — I  will  not  permit  it!  There,  now — 
that  is  settled!" 

"Amen!"  responded  Lew,  in  his  heart. 


L 


THE  GOOD   SAMARITANS.  267 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE    GOOD   SAMARITANS. 

EW  Fenwick  saw  very  plainly  that  the 
old  ladies  were  greatly  interested  in  his 
companion,  Adualina.  They  showed 
a  tender  and  affectionate  regard,  and 
seemed  to  be  constantly  striving  to  do 
something  for  her  comfort. 

What  they  knew  of  circuses  and  mena 
geries  was  probably  through  hearsay,  and 
they  looked  upon  their  two  visitors,  es 
pecially  the  girl,  as  a  couple  of  wanderers 
from  wonder-land. 

Ladies  of  their  age  count  themselves 
privileged  in  the  way  of  asking  questions, 
particularly  where  juveniles  are  concerned 
—a  privilege  that,  as  a  rule,  is  conceded 
by  those  with  whom  they  come  in  contact. 

"What  is  your  name?"  asked  grand 
mother  Tabitha,  as  she  knitted  briskly, 
and  peered  over  the  top  of  her  spectacles 
at  her  visitors. 


268  LIMBER    LEW. 

"Ruth  Johnson — although  I  am  not 
called  that  on  the  bills. " 

"How  long  have  you  been  a  circus 
actor?" 

"I  don't  know,  but  almost  ever  since 
I  can  remember.  My  father  trained  me 
when  I  was  a  very  small  girl." 

"What  is  it  you  do'?' 

The  girl  explained  the  part  of  the 
programme  she  was  expected  to  fill,  speak 
ing  loudly  enough  for  both  ladies  to  hear, 
for  each  showed  a  profound  curiosity, 
and  ceased  knitting  to  listen. 

But,  as  can  well  be  understood,  their 
interest  in  no  respect  could  compare  with 
that  of  Limber  Lew's.  He  was  eager 
to  learn  something  of  her  history,  and 
with  a  gratification  that  cannot  be  de 
scribed,  he  noted  that  they  were  taking 
the  very  tack  he  wished  them  to  take. 
He  listened  quietly  to  every  word  uttered. 

Adualina  to  him  looked  more  winsome 
in  her  plain,  Quaker-like  garb,  than  in 
her  gaudy  attire.  There  was  a  flush  on 
her  cheek  and  a  sparkle  in  her  eye  that 


THE    GOOD   SAMARITANS.  269 

made  her  very  pretty,  aside  from  the 
sweetness  of  her  voice,  the  beauty  of 
her  pearl-like  teeth,  her  classical  regularity 
of  features,  and  the  unsurpassed  grace  of 
her  carriage,  shown  in  her  movement  and 
manner,  and  none  the  less  marked  in  her 
present  dress.  She  seemed  ready  and  will 
ing  to  answer  all  questions  which  the 
good  old  ladies  chose  to  ask  her. 

Although  the  questioners,  as  was  evident, 
looked  with  extreme  disfavor  upon  her 
profession,  yet  they  showed  true  Christian 
charity  by  trying  to  prevent  her  suspecting 
it,  so  long  at  least  as  her  own  sentiments 
were  unknown. 

"Do  you  like  your  business?"  asked 
grandmother  Tabitha,  in  the  same  soft 
voice. 

"No!"  was  the  reply  of  the  little  one, 
uttered  in  so  positive  a  manner  that  the 
listening  lad  was  astonished,  for  he  had 
never  suspected  she  was  dissatisfied  with 
her  life — "no!  I  do  not  know  anything 
in  the  world  which  I  hate  so  much  as  I 
do  that  of  riding  the  horses,  and  walking 


270  LIMBER   LEW. 

the  rope,  with  thousands  of  people  cheering 


me." 


"  What  makes  you  do  it  then?  " 

Adualina  looked  at  the  speaker,  as  if 
in  doubt  whether  she  heard  aright. 

"Why  do  I  do  it?  Do  you  suppose 
it  is  my  choice?  Do  you  think,  if  I  had 
my  own  way,  T  would  ever  go  back? 
But  I  cannot  help  it.  If  my  father  thought 
I  was  loitering  here,  he  would  beat  me 
dreadfully  to-morrow.  I  cannot  count  the 
times  he  has  whipped  me,  when  I  did 
not  perform  to  suit  him,  or  when  he 
thought  I  wasn't  trying  to  learn  as  I 
ought  to." 

"  Have  you  no  mother?  " 

"None,"  she  replied,  with  a  sad  shake 
of  the  head. 

The  tears  filled  the  eyes  of  both  the 
old  ladies,  and  laying  down  her  knitting, 
Tabitha  said,  with  the  yearning  affection 
of  one  who  knows  by  experience  the  yearn 
ing  of  a  mother's  love : 

"Come,  let  me  fold  you  to  my  heart  ' 

Adualina    impulsively    sprang    forward 


THE    GOOD   SAMARITANS.  271 

threw  her  arms  about  the  neck  ^of  the 
good  old  lady,  who  drew  her  head  to  her 
bosom,  brushing  back  the  luxuriant  hair 
from  the  forehead,  which  was  kissed  with 
all  the  unutterable  fondness  that  had 
been  hers  when  she  held  the  head  of  her 
dying  child  in  her  arms. 

Her  sister  placed  her  handkerchief  to 
her  eyes,  and  there  was  weeping  all  round, 
the  heart  of  Lew  welling  up  and  overflowing. 

"How  like  my  own  life!"  he  said  to 
himself.  "Only  one  real  parent  living, 
and  he  not  caring  for  me.  Well,  there's 
one  consolation  about  it — it  can't  last 
forever.  I've  got  rid  of  mine,  and  one 
day  hers  will  go.  I  wish  I  could  help  her 
out  of  her  trouble.  If  she  would  only 
run  away  with  me,  I  would  take  her 
back  to  Captain  Reynolds,  who  would 
treat  her  as  his  own  child!" 

All  was  silent  in  the  room  for  a  few 
minutes,  except  the  sound  of  weeping. 
Lew  did  his  best  to  master  his  emotions, 
but  he  broke  down  at  last,  and  the  scene 
was  pathetic  indeed. 


272  LIMBER   LEW. 

Tabitha,  the  first  to  give  way,  was  the 
first  to  recover  herself. 

"  Stay  with  me.  You  shall  be  my  daugh 
ter,  and  I  will  try  to  bring  you  up  in  the 
way  you  should  go.  God  gave  sister 
Ruth  and  me  good  and  kind  children, 
but  those  that  He  has  not  taken  to  himself 
have  grown  up  and  have  darlings  of  their 
own.  Live  with  us,  and  we  shall  be 
happier  than  you." 

"I  would  never  leave  you,"  said  the 
weeping  girl,  "if  I  could  be  sure  father 
would  not  find  me  out;  but  he  would 
have  all  the  police  in  the  city  hunting 
for  me.  It  would  be  searched  high  and 
low,  for  you  know  my  wages  are  four 
times  as  much  as  his,  and  he  gets  it  all, 
and  then  he  would  beat  me — oh,  so  terribly !" 

"I  will  tell  you  how  we'll  fix  it,"  broke 
in  Lew.  "We  will  go  back  and  keep 
on  till  we're  a  good  many  miles  from 
here,  and  then  slip  away,  and  I'll  bring 
you  here,  and  they  won't  know  where 
to  look  for  you." 

Tabitha  gazed  at  the  boy  in  admiring 


THE   GOOD    SAMARITANS.  273 

astonishment.  Surely  she  had  never  seen 
so  much  wisdom  on  such  young  shoulders. 

"  Truly  you  are  the  smartest  boy  I  ever 
saw." 

Lew  blushed  at  the  unexpected  com 
pliment,  which  he  tried  to  parry. 

"I  don't  see  anything  very  smart  about 
that." 

"  I  wouldn't  have  thought  of  it  in  a 
month.  That's  the  very  thing.  Only  I 
wish  it  could  be  done  without  her  going 
back  at  all;  but  then  that  can't  be  very 
well,"  added  the  good  lady,  with  an  air 
of  perplexity. 

"No, "  replied  Adualina,  raising  her  head, 
and  speaking  with  resignation  and  hope. 
"I  am  happy  over  what  you  have  opened 
before  me,  and  I  shudder  for  fear  I  shall 
never  see  it." 

"  'God  is  just,  and  He  doeth  all  things 
well,'  was  the  reverent  exclamation  of 
grandmother  Ruth.  "Do  you  not  believe 
there  is  a  Providence  in  everything?  Do 
you  think  it  was  chance  that  guided 
your  footsteps  through  the  darkness  to 


274  LIMBER   LEW. 

this  door?  No;  the  hand  of  our  Heavenly 
Father  was  in  all,  as  you  shall  see  by- 
and~by." 

"Is  Johnson,  the  teamster,  really  your 
father?" 

The  words  came  from  Lew  Fenwick, 
and  he  knew  not  then,  nor  has  he  ever 
been  able  to  explain  what  it  was  that 
prompted  him  to  ask  the  startling  question. 
It  was  in  a  voice  loud  enough  to  be  un 
derstood  by  Ruth,  and  she  and  her  sister 
stared  at  him  as  if  they  had  just  heard 
the  utterance  of  an  oracle.  There  was 
something  in  the  crisp  abruptness  that 
almost  carried  away  their  breath,  and 
held  them  speechless  for  some  seconds. 

Poor  Adualina  started,  and  faintly  in 
quired  : 

"What  do  you  mean?" 

"I'll  be  hanged  if  I  know,"  was  the 
confused  reply.  * '  I  didn' t  ask  the  question ; 
it  asked  itself;  but  now  that  it  has  been 
asked,  I  must  say  I  have  thought  of  it 
a  good  many  times  since  I  first  laid  eyes 
on  you  both.  You  don't  look  a  bit  alike, 


THE   GOOD    SAMARITANS.  275 

and  I  don't  think  you  two  are  any  more 
than  an  angel  and  a  dev — I  mean  anything 
else." 

The  girl  rested  on  her  hand  and  looked 
down  at  the  carpet.  Her  reverie  seemed 
to  be  of  things  far  away.  Her  mind  was 
wandering  back  over  the  " shadowy  past" — 
so  shadowy  indeed  that  she  saw  nothing 
tangible,  and  knew  not  whether  they 
were  the  phantoms  of  dream-land  or  reality 
that  flitted  before  her,  and  which  she 
vainly  strove  to  grasp. 

"  Sometimes, "  said  she,  in  a  low  voice, 
speaking  not  to  any  one,  but  thinking 
aloud,  "  there  are  pictures  which  come 
to  me  that  I  cannot  understand.  I  see 
another  home — a  father  holding  me  on 
his  knee,  a  mother  pressing  me  to  her 
heart,  and  then — and  then  it  is  gone. 
It  is  all  darkness — I  see  nothing— day 
follows  night." 

"Come,  let  your'brown  hair,  just  lighted  with  gold, 
Fall  on  your  shoulders  again,  as  of  old ; 
Let  it  fall  on   my  forehead  to-night, 
Shielding  my  eyes  from  the  flickering  light. 


276  LIMBER   LEW. 

For,  oh !  with  its  sunny-edged  shadows  once  more 
Haply  will  throng  the  sweet  visions  of  yore: 
Lovingly,  softly,  its  bright  billows  sweep- 
Rock  me  to  sleep,  mother,  rock  me  to  sleep!" 

Nothing  but  the  ticking  of  the  little 
ormolu  clock  on  the  mantel  succeeded, 
for  several  minutes,  this  strange  scene. 
No  one  dared  to  speak,  for  fear  of  breaking 
the  spell.  Adualina  sat  motionless,  with 
her  eyes  fixed  on  the  floor.  Suddenly 
she  raised  her  head,  and  looked  into  the 
faces  of  her  friends. 

"I  know  what  I  thought,"  she  said, 
in  a  low  voice,  with  a  wan  smile;  "every 
now  and  then  it  comes  back  to  me,  but 
when  I  try  to  hold  fast  to  it,  it  slips  away, 
and  is  gone." 

"You  appeared  to  be  thinking  about 
another  father  and  mother,"  added  Lew, 
in  the  hope  of  recalling  the  scene;  "but 
before  you  could  get  the  hang  of  it,  it 
seemed  to  give  you  the  slip. " 

"I  don't  know  what  it  is  that  makes 
me  think  of  such  things,"  said  she,  with 
something  of  her  old  perplexity. 


THE   GOOD   SAMARITANS.  277 

"  Did  you  ever  ask  Johnson  about  them?  " 

" Only  once." 

" What  did  he  say?" 

"He  beat  me  and  I  have  never  repeated 
the  question." 

"No:  I  don't  think  I  would  in  that 
quarter,"  said  Lew;  adding  afterward, 
as  if  to  himself:  "What  an  old  brute 
he  is!" 

"I  have  no  doubt,"  said  grandmother 
Tabitha,  in  a  frightened  whisper,"  that 
that  dreadful  monster  stole  you  when 
you  were  a  very  young  child.  Those 
folks  that  you  see  in  your  thoughts  are 
your  real  father  and  mother." 

This  was  said  with  an  impressive  solemn 
ity  that  cannot  be  described.  It  looked 
as  if  the  old  lady  had  entered  into  a  contest 
of  mental  acumen  with  the  boy  Lew, 
and  believed  she  had  triumphed  over  him. 

"Yes,"  she  added,  "those  folks  that 
you  see  are  your  real  father  and  mother; 
that  I  am  certain  of.  He  stole  you — yes, 
he  stole  you  in  your  infancy.  I  try  to 
live  a  consistent  Christian  life,  but  I  do 


278  LIMBER   LEW. 

believe  I  would  rejoice  at  a  chance  to  pour 
a  kettle  of  b'iling  water  over  such  an 
unconscionable  wretch.  You  see  that  it 
was  all  so  long  ago  that  you  can't  re 
member  it  very  well.  I  wonder  now,  if 
you  should  keep  thinking  whether  you 
couldn't  recall  the  city  where  all  this  took 
place,  and  your  folks'  name,  and  the 
business  your  father  was  engaged  in,  and 
the  street  and  number  of  the  house,  and 
how  many  sisters  and  brothers  you  had,  and 
whether  you  can  best  reach  the  place  by 
rail  or  boat,  and  what  your  mother's  name 
was  before  she  was  married?  If  you 
could  remember  a  few  trifling  things  like 
that,  it  might  be  of  some  assistance  in 
tracing  out  your  parents,  don't  you  think 
S0j  Lewis?" 

Lewis  was  inclined  to  think  it  would. 

"I  couldn't  think  of  all  that,"  said 
Adualina,  with  her  natural  laugh,  "but 
I  will  try  more  than  ever,  and  it  may 
be  I  can  call  back  something  that  will 
be  of  help." 

They  talked  for  a  long  time,   the  girl 


THE    GOOD    SAMARITANS.  279 

giving  several  thrilling  reminiscences  of 
her  career,  which  interested  all  her  listeners, 
while  the  links  of  friendship,  forged  on 
that  evening  in  that  room,  were  welded 
into  a  strong,  enduring  chain.  It  was 
close  upon  midnight  when  all  retired  to 
their  respective  apartments. 

The  morning  dawned  clear  and  beau 
tiful,  and  as  soon  as  they  could  do  so 
without  rudeness,  Lew  and  Adualina  bade 
their  friends  good-by,  and  made  their 
way  to  the  hotel,  where,  as  may  be  sup 
posed,  their  arrival  caused  no  little  excite 
ment  and  rejoicing. 

Johnson,  the  teamster,  was  there,  and 
when  he  found  his  daughter  had  been 
in  charge  of  this  handsome,  manly  fellow, 
he  scowled  and  sulked. 

"  Why  didn't  you  come  home,  yourself?" 
he  snarled,  catching  her  arm  and  snatching 
her  toward  him. 

"I  didn't  know  the  way." 
" Hadn't  you  a  tongue  to  ask?" 
"Yes;  but  I  was  not  in  the  clothes  to 
walk  the  streets. " 


280  LIMBER   LEW. 

"You're  getting  very  proud, "  he  growled, 
still  holding  her  wrist,  and  almost  jerking 
her  off  her  feet. 

"Easy,  Johnson — easy,  there!"  inter 
posed  Girt  on.  The  girl  acted  sensibly, 
and  has  saved  herself  from  a  spell  of  sick 
ness,  by  seeking  shelter  as  soon  as  she 
could." 

Girton  was  the  only  man  of  whom  the 
sullen  teamster  had  any  fear,  and  he 
ceased  his  persecutions  of  the  girl,  mut 
tering  something  unintelligible  to  the  others 
as  he  went  out  of  the  room. 

Matters  were  speedily  adjusted.  Adu- 
alina  was  turned  over  to  the  care  of  the 
matron,  and  the  others  settled  themselves 
for  the  day. 

The  Sabbath  was  clear  and  beautiful, 
the  air  cooled  by  the  rain  of  the  night, 
and  the  sky  with  scarcely  a  cloud. 

There  was  a  diversity  in  which  the 
day  was  spent  by  the  men  attached  to 
the  circus.  Those  in  charge  of  the  animals 
first  looked  after  them,  and  then  stowed 
themselves  into  places  where  they  would 


THE   GOOD   SAMARITANS.  281 

be  permitted  to  put  in  a  number  of  hours 
of  "square"  sleep;  others,  who  were  not 
in  need  of  rest  strolled  off  down  town, 
finding  their  way  by  back  entrances  into 
drinking  saloons,  where  they  engaged  in 
billiard  or  card-playing;  others,  again,  hired 
trotting-carriages,  and  drove  out  in  the 
country,  while  most  of  the  remainder 
stayed  in  their  rooms,  mending  their  clothes 
and  toggery,  and  getting  things  in  shape 
for  the  six  days  of  labor  before  them. 

Perkins,  the  bare-back  rider,  who  had 
caused  all  the  rumpus  of  the  night  before, 
was  still  in  bed;  but  he  was  sober,  with 
a  stinging  headache,  and  he  was  gnawed 
at  by  self-reproach  and  remorse. 

Calling  Lew  Fenwick  into  his  room, 
he  got  him  to  draw  up  a  pledge  of  total 
abstinence  for  a  year  to  come,  signed 
it  with  a  bold  and  remarkably  even  hand 
for  one  in  his  condition,  and  sent  it  into 
Girton's  room. 

The  recipient  strode  back  and  forth 
in  his  apartment,  and  raved.  He  wouldn't 
consider  it.  Perkins  was  discharged  forth- 


282  LIMBER   LEW. 

with.  Girton  had  been  a  fool  to  trust 
him  so  long.  He  had  been  thousands  of 
dollars  injury  to  the  establishment,  and 
his  employer  would  not  have  him  again 
on  any  terms. 

At  the  end  of  half  an  hour,  he  concluded 
to  give  the  man  one  more  chance  to  re 
deem  himself. 

Girton  proposed  to  Lew  that  he  spend 
the  Sunday  in  practicing  with  the  Hollo 
boys,  and  the  latter  took  it  as  a  matter 
course;  but  there  was  something  so  re 
pugnant  to  employing  his  time  in  this 
manner  that  he  asked  his  friend  not  to 
insist  upon  it,  promising  to  make  up  by 
extra  attention  and  work  during  the 
coming  week. 

Girton  was  generous  enough  to  accede 
to  his  wish. 

When  the  church-bells  sounded  out  on 
the  clear  summer  air,  they  recalled  so 
vividly  the  boy's  own  home,  and  the  divine 
services  which  he  regularly  attended,  that 
he  determined  to  keep  up  the  practice, 
whenever  and  wherever  possible. 


THE  GOOD   SAMARITANS.  283 

The  eldest  Hollo  brother  heard  him  tell 
where  he  was  going,  and  laughed. 

"  Turned  pious,  haiv  yer?'  Haiv  you 
indulged  in  your  evening  devotions  this 
morning? — for  if  you  haivn't  then  you 
haiv  better  haiv  haid.  Why  don't  you 
start  a  prayer  meeting  in  the  tent,  after 
performance  is  over?" 

Lew's  face  flushed,  and  he  was  tempted 
to  make  an  angry  reply;  but  he  recalled 
that  it  would  be  wrong  to  return  railing 
for  railing,  and  it  was  his  duty  to  consider 
it  an  honor  to  be  reviled  for  the  sake  of 
Him  who  died  for  us  all. 


284  LIMBER   LEW. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

IN   THE    EARLY    MORNING. 

THE  next  place  at  which  Simpson's  Circus 
and  Menagerie  was  billed  to  perform 
and  exhibit  was  at  Hartville,  an  inland 
town,  with  which  there  was  no  railroad  con 
nection.  Consequently,  the  horses  were 
utilized,  and  conveyances  were  provided 
for  all.  The  ladies  and  principal  per 
formers  rode  in  carriages,  while  the  others 
were  distributed  among  the  teamsters. 

Girton  offered  to  give  Lew  Fenwick 
accommodations  in  his  own  vehicle,  but 
he  concluded  to  do  as  did  the  Rollo  boys — 
take  a  ride  beside  a  driver.  The  disagree 
able  feature  about  this  was  that  most  of 
it  was  necessarily  done  in  the  night  time. 

It  was  barely  past  "low  twelve"  when 
the  long  procession  of  wagons  began  rum 
bling  and  rattling  through  the  town,  taking 
a  northwest  direction  toward  their  desti 
nation. 


IN  THE   EARLY  MORNING.  285 

Lew  was  perched  on  the  top  of  the  high 
box-like  wagon,  gaudily  painted,  on  the 
outside,  with  a  picture  of  a  man  holding 
open  the  enormous  jaws  of  two  lions — a 
specimen  on  either  side  of  him — by  grasp 
ing  one  to  a  hand.  The  relative  pro 
portions  of  the  parties  were  such  that 
the  wild  beasts  were  the  size  of  overgrown 
elephants. 

Naturally,  there  was  a  wild  expression 
on  the  face  of  the  hercules,  and  he  ap 
peared  to  be  scowling  at  both  at  the  same 
time,  and  yet,  somehow  or  other,  he  did 
not  seem  to  be  cross-eyed. 

The  carriage  itself  contained  a  puny 
cougar,  which,  if  encountered  along  the 
road,  would  have  been  taken  for  a  big 
Maltese  cat  in  poor  condition. 

The  driver  was  named  Davis,  jovial  and 
communicative,  and  one  of  the  very  few 
connected  with  the  establishment  who 
seemed  really  to  enjoy  his  position,  and 
to  prefer  it  above  everything  else  in  the 
world. 

The   wagon   directly   ahead   was   laden 


286  LIMBER   LEW. 

with  tent-poles,  which,  projecting  far  be 
yond  the  rear  of  the  vehicle,  see-sawed  up 
and  down  at  the  slightest  unevenness  in 
the  road. 

Sam,  the  oldest  Rollo  boy,  shared  the 
seat  of  this  wagon  with  Johnson,  the 
father  or  guardian  of  Adualina,  and  on 
beyond  them  were  a  dozen  similar  vehicles, 
and  still  more  in  the  rear;  so  that,  when 
the  procession  was  fairly  under  way,  it 
was  not  insignificant  by  any  means. 

The  night  was  clear  and  starlight,  and 
the  heavy  rain  had  so  effectually  laid 
the  dust  that  riding  could  not  have  been 
more  pleasant,  except  for  the  unseemly 
hour  at  which  it  was  begun. 

The  lad  was  glad  of  the  opportunity 
for  such  conveyance;  and  as  they  rattled 
out  the  city  and  bowled  along  at  a  stirring 
pace  through  the  country,  he  remarked 
to  his  friend  that  he  considered  it  more 
pleasant  to  travel  in  this  style  than  by 
railroad. 

"  Don't  know  but  what  it  is  in  such 
weather  as  this,"  replied  Davis,  as  he 


IN   THE   EARLY   MORNING.  287 

cracked  his  whip;  "but  how  about  it  when 
it  was  like  Saturday?  Rain  coming  down 
steadily,  and  managing  to  creep  in  some 
where,  if  you  have  on  a  half-dozen  tar 
paulin  suits;  or  one  of  those  sultry  nights, 
when  the  air  is  thick  with  dust.  Lucky 
then  is  the  chap  who  has  the  lead,  and 
unlucky  is  he  who  is  anywhere  else.  All 
such  times  as  them,  I  rather  think  you 
wouldn't  burst  yourself  with  enjoyment — 
that  is,  it  ain't  apt  to  strike  in. " 

"Do  you  sleep  any,  while  on  the  road?" 
"You   bet!    That's    just   the    place   to 
get  a  good  square  nap  that  does  you  good. 
Do   you   know,    I   sometimes   believe   our 
horses  do  the  same  thing?" 

"When  they're  trotting  or  walking?" 
"Of  course!  You  don't  s'pose  we'd  stop 
and  let  them  lean  up  against  the  fence 
to  snore,  do  you?  There's  no  telling 
my  boy,  what  man  or  beast  can  do  till 
he  tries." 

This  was  rather  too  extravagant  an 
assertion  for  Lew  to  credit,  although  he 
did  not  deem  it  best  to  say  so. 


288  LIMBER   LEW. 

"  What's  the  use  of  starting  so  early, 
and  getting  to  a  place  so  long  before  it 
is  time  to  parade?" 

"We  don't  always  do  it,  but  it's  an  idea 
of  Girton's,  so  as  to  allow  for  accidents. 
Sometimes  we  don't  leave  a  town  till  after 
daybreak,  although  some  of  the  teams  go 
ahead,  so  as  to  have  all  the  time  they  need 
in  getting  things  in  shape.  We've  got  a 
long  stretch  of  country  before  us,  and  we 
won't  reach  the  next  town  till  eight  or  nine 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  we  must  keep 
up  a  spanking  gait  at  that.' ' 

"Do   you    like   your   business,    Billy?" 

"Like  it?  I  dote  on  it!  I  revel  in  it! 
I  was  laid  out  and  built  for  the  show  busi 
ness.  I'm  in  my  sphere.' ' 

"How  long  have  you  been  at  it?" 

"Three  years,  four  months  and  seventeen 
days,  at  twenty  minutes  past  twelve  to 
morrow.  How  long  have  you  dipped  in 
it?" 

The  lad  gave  the  time  as  exactly  as  he 
could 

"I  didix't  know  you  was  a  newcomer, 


IN  THE  EARLY   MORNING.  289 

though  I  remember  having  seen  your  face 
before;  but  ain't  it  perfectly  gorgeous— 
absolutely  glorious?" 

"  There  are  a  good  many  pleasant  things 
about  it,  and  then  there  are  some  that  are 
the  other  way.  I  thought,  when  I  first  saw 
Adualina,  that  she  must  live  in  a  sort  of 
paradise.' ' 

"Well,    don't   she?" 

"I've  been  told  that  her  father  is  very 
cross  with  her. ' ' 

"Who    is    her    father?" 

Billy  Davis  was  one  of  those  delightful 
geniuses  who  absolutely  knew  nothing, 
outside  of  his  immediate  profession. 

"Don't  you  know  him?  He  is  Johnson, 
the  driver  of  one  of  the  teams." 

"I  know  Johnson  very  well,  and  it  seems 
to  me  I  have  heard  him  say  something 
about  his  daughter;  but  I  wasn't  sure  whom 
he  meant.  Let  me  see,  Adualina  is  the 
little  gal  that  walks  the  wire,  ain't  she?' ' 

"I  suppose  everybody  who  ever  heard  of 
the  circus  knew  that." 

"I  must  try  to  pay  more  attention  to 


290  LIMBER  LEW. 

such  things,"  said  Billy,  self-reproachfully. 
"I  made  up  my  mind,  when  I  started  out 
to  read  the  papers  regular-like,  to  keep  post 
ed,  but  a  fellow  will  neglect  his  duty,  you 
know.  And  so  her  father  don't  use  the  gal 
well,  eh?  He  ought  to  be  ashamed  of 
himself,  and  the  first  chance  I  get  I'll  let 
him  know  what  you  said  to  me,  and  advise 
him  to  reform." 

"  Don't  do  that !' '  exclaimed  the  dismayed 
youngster.  "I  wouldn't  have  you  mention 
my  name  for  the  world!" 

"Why  not?  Don't  you  see,  if  he  finds 
you  are  telling  all  the  drivers  about  it,  he 
will  think  others  notice  it,  and  it'll  set 
him  to  thinking?  I  tell  you,  my  boy,  my 
mother  used  to  say  I  had  a  sharp  head  on 
me,  and  I  prove  it  every  day." 

Lew  urged  him  so  hard,  however,  not  to 
follow  such  a  course  that  he  finally  promised 
he  would  refrain. 

By  this  time  the  lad  saw  he  had  selected 
the  least  profitable  man  in  the  world  to 
"pump."  He  had  hoped  to  glean  more 
information  about  the  girl  who  had  occu- 


IN   THE   EARLY   MORNING.  291 

pied  so  much  of  his  thoughts  for  the  last  few 
days,  and  especially  since  the  Saturday 
night  adventure;  but  he  saw  that  for  the 
present  it  was  hopeless. 

Billy  was  wide  awake,  and  so  long  as  he 
kept  on  his  own  pet  subject,  the  stream 
of  talk  ran  unremittingly. 

As  hours  wore  on,  signs  of  approaching 
day  were  seen.  At  some  of  the  farm-houses 
lights  twinkled  in  the  windows,  proving  that 
the  industrious  husbandmen  not  only  made 
hay  while  the  sun  shone,  but  before  it  had 
a  chance  to  shine.  The  cavalcade  was 
nearly  always  saluted  with  the  barking  of 
dogs,  while  the  crowing  of  cocks  was 
scarcely  ever  hushed. 

By-and-by,  shadowy  figures  could  be 
detected  stalking  here  and  there  about  the 
houses,  and  at  last,  Bill  pointed  with  the  tip 
of  his  whip  toward  the  East. 

"Do 'you  notice  that  it's  getting  light 
yonder?  Day  isn't  far  off." 

"  And  how  much  further  have  we  to  go?' ' 

"It  must  be  more  than  six  miles.  We're 
going  to  reach  there  sooner  than  I  expected; 


292  LIMBER   LEW. 

but  we  haven't  any  time  to  fool,  for  all 
we've  kept  up  a  good  speed." 

He  leaned  forward,  and  peered  back  at 
the  road  over  which  they  had  just  passed. 
There  was  enough  light  to  reveal  the  two 
following  wagons,  and  he  knew  the  others 
were  at  the  proper  distance  behind  them. 
The  whole  procession  had  settled  down  to 
the  same  gait,  and  it  moved  over  the  face  of 
the  country  like  so  many  parts  of  a  great 
machine. 

Johnson's  wagon  maintained  its  position, 
and  when  it  turned  some  corner,  several 
additional  vehicles  could  be  descried 
speeding  along  the  same  as  the  others. 

The  light  in  the  East  rapidly  increased, 
until  the  landscape  emerged  to  view  from 
the  gloom,  and  the  rising  of  the  sun  was 
close  at  hand. 

"You  know  we  always  inquire  pretty 
particular  about  the  country  we're  going 
through/'  observed  Billy;  "and  although 
there  ain't  any  railroad  running  through 
Hartville,  yet  we  was  told  we'd  have  to 
cross  one  before  we  reached  it.  I'm  think- 


IN  THE    EARLY   MORNING.  293 

ing  it  is  about  time  the  same  was    vis 
ible." 

As  he  spoke,  he  raised  himself  to  the 
standing  position,  and  peered  forward  over 
his  horses'  heads. 

"I  always  like  to  be  careful  in  crossing 
the  railroad  tracks,  since  the  time  I  fell 
asleep  and  a  locomotive  ripped  off  one  of 
my  hind  wheels.  That  was  cutting  it  so 
close  that  I  was  scared.  Yes,  yonder  is  the 
railroad.' ' 

"  And  a  train  is  coming.  Don't  you  hear 
the  whistle?' ' 

"That's  nothing;  our  horses  are  used  to 
it,  and  don't  seem  to  mind  it  at  all.' ' 

There  are  not  many  persons  who  can 
composedly  draw  near  a  railroad  crossing, 
expecting  to  reach  it  at  the  same  time  with 
an  express  train. 

Lew  fidgeted  in  his  seat,  and  as  the  team 
trotted  steadily  forward,  to  the  sound  of 
a  tune  hummed  by  the  driver,  he  asked 
him  to  rein  up  until  the  train  had  passed. 

"What's  the  use?"  was  the  serene  ques 
tion  of  the  teamster.  "The  cars  will  beat 


LIMBER    LEW. 

us,  and  if  I  hold  up,  it  will  upset  the  whole 
procession,  and  we  shan't  be  able  to  ride 
into  town  in  style/' 

"How  about  Johnson,  there,  ahead  of 
us?" 

"He  is  the  one  that  must  watch  out. 
The  way  things  look,  the  two' 11  hit  the  spot 
at  about  the  same  time." 

The  direction  from  which  the  express  was 
coming  prevented  its  being  seen  distinctly, 
since  the  road  ran  through  a  cut  over  a 
dozen  feet  deep;  but,  despite  the  rattling 
of  the  wagons,  the  loud  roar  and  rumble  of 
the  cars  was  heard,  growing  stronger  each 
second. 

Suddenly  white  puffs  of  steam  appeared 
above  the  cut,  several  hundred  feet  away, 
darting  along  the  ground  in  the  direction  of 
the  highway  with  the  speed  of  a  fiery 
serpent. 

At  this  time  the  team  of  Johnson  was 
trotting  so  close  to  the  railroad  that  even 
Billy  raised  his  head  and  wondered  what  it 
all  meant. 

"If  I  was  where  he  is,  I'd  begin  to  rein 


IN  THE    EARLY   MORNING.  295 

in  about  this  time.  It  must  be  they're 
both  asleep.  Hello!" 

He  shouted  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  whip 
ping  up  his  own  horses,  so  as  to  bring  him 
as  near  as  possible  to  the  endangered  party. 

Rising  to  his  feet,  Billy  continued  shout 
ing  and  whipping,  desperate  and  excited, 
now  that  he  realized  the  frightful  peril  in 
which  they  were  placed. 

Only  a  second  or  two  had  passed  since 
awakening  to  the  danger,  during  which  the 
team  continued  steadily  forward  at  the 
same  pace  it  had  kept  up  for  the  last  few 
hours. 

The  white  puffs  of  vapor  kept  creeping  up 
over  the  tops  of  the  embankment,  nearer 
and  nearer. 

All  at  once  a  column  of  snowy  mist  shot 
straight  up,  far  above  the  rest.  The  en 
gineer  had  discovered  the  danger,  and  the 
whistle  rang  out  with  a  loud  screech,  that 
was  ear-splitting  in  its  fierceness. 

At  the  same  instant,  the  string  to  the  bell 
was  jerked,  while  the  ponderous  driving- 
wheels  began  spinning  backward  with  a 


296  LIMBER   LEW. 

lightning-like  velocity,  the  fire  flying  from 
their  grinding  peripheries. 

But  the  catastrophe  was  inevitable.  The 
driver  and  Lew  saw  the  wagon  immediately 
in  their  front  struck  fairly  and  fully  by  the 
pilot  of  the  engine,  whose  speed  was  hardly 
abated  a  jot  or  tittle. 

The  momentum  was  terrific,  and  the 
effect  appalling.  The  strong  wagon  was 
shattered  to  atoms,  as  if  it  were  a  house  of 
card-boards  smitten  by  a  cannon-ball. 
Fragments  flew  twenty  feet  in  the  air,  and 
the  whole  team,  with  its  contents,  was 
utterly  wrecked. 

The  train  having  wrought  its  work  of 
death,  sped  on  with  gradually-slackening 
speed,  until  it  came  to  a  halt,  several 
hundred  feet  away,  and  began  slowly  back 
ing  to  the  scene  of  the  accident. 

In  the  meantime,  the  procession  stopped 
on  both  sides  of  the  crossing,  and  the  em 
ployees  ran  to  learn  the  extent  of  the 
calamity. 

As  is  frequently  the  case,  the  result  was 
different  from  that  which  would  have  been 


IN   THE  EARLY   MORNING.  297 

reasoned  out  upon  the  basis  of  probabilities. 
The  hindmost  of  the  four  horses  had  just 
stepped  off  the  track,  when  the  crash  came, 
with  such  suddenness  that  the  steeds  were 
set  free,  and  not  one  of  them  received  a 
scratch. 

Johnson,  the  driver,  and  Sam,  the  eldest 
of  the  Rollo  boys,  seemed  to  have  caught 
the  full  momentum  of  the  immense  engine, 
which  struck  the  wagon  with  inconceivable 
force. 

They  were  found  lying  beside  the  track, 
a  few  yards  away,  apparently  dead. 

While  several  of  the  drivers,  who  wished 
to  avoid  looking  upon  the  dreadful  sight, 
busied  themselves  in  securing  the  freed 
horses,  others  picked  up  the  man  and  boy, 
in  the  hope  that  they  were  not  beyond  all 
assistance. 

By  this  tune  the  train  had  backed  to  the 
spot,  and  a  score  of  men,  eager  to  render 
what  help  they  could,  ran  forward  to  where 
the  two  forms  were  being  tenderly  carried 
to  a  farm-house  near  at  hand. 

Among  these  passengers  was  a  surgeon, 


298  LIMBER   LEW. 

who,  hoping  he  might  do  something,  brought 
his  valise  and  instruments,  and  volunteered 
lo  remain  so  long  as  his  services  were  of  any 
use,  the  conductor  promising  to  telegraph 
to  the  next  train,  which  was  two  hours 
in  the  rear,  to  stop  and  pick  him  up. 

This  arrangement — which  was  undoubt 
edly  the  best  possible — being  completed, 
the  train  moved  on  again,  and  a  large 
crowd  of  performers  followed  the  two  forms 
into  the  house  of  the  scared  farmer,  to 
learn  the  whole  truth. 

No  one,  not  even  the  surgeon,  could  un 
derstand  how  it  came  about,  but  it  was  a 
fact  that  Johnson,  the  driver,  was  scarcely 
hurt  at  all. 

He  was  sound  asleep  at  the  time  he  was 
struck,  and  was  only  stunned.  Although 
on  the  side  of  the  wagon  which  received 
the  charge,  no  serious  bruise  could  be 
discovered  upon  his  person.  While  the 
doctor  was  punching  and  pinching  him, 
he  raised  himself  to  a  sitting  position  and 
wanted  to  know  what  all  the  fuss  was  about. 
The  next  minute  he  got  up  and  walked 


IN  THE  EARLY  MORNING,  299 

around  the  room,  stamping  his  feet  and 
complaining  of  feeling  a  little  stiff. 

But  the  professional  man  shook  his  headj 
when  he  turned  to  the  white-faced  and 
apparently  sleeping  lad.  Since  there  was 
no  blood  visible  on  him,  those  who  were 
silently  looking  on,  hoped  that  the  same 
remarkable  escape  had  come  to  him. 

However,  he  did  not  open  his  eyes, 
as  the  surgeon  loosened  his  clothes,  and 
went  over  every  portion  of  his  person, 
all  the  time  scrutinizing  his  countenance 
and  frequently  testing  his  pulse. 

"He  must  be  badly  hurt,"  said  Lew 
Fenwick,  in  an  undertone,  as  he  stood 
close  by.  The  surgeon  turned  to  see  who 
it  was  that  spoke,  and  said: 

"Yes;  he's  never  going  to  get  over  it." 

"What!  will  he  die?"  asked  several, 
with  the  same  breath. 

"  No ;  because  he  is  already  dead, "  replied 
the  doctor,  ceasing  his  manipulations  and  ris 
ing  to  his  feet.  "His  injuries  are  enough  to 
kill  three  men.  He  has  been  dead  several 
minutes."  Such  was  the  fact. 


300  LIMBER   LEW. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

A    SLIP. 

THE  shock  of  the  boy's  death  was  dread 
ful  to  Lew  Fenwick,  and  he  began  to 
realize  more  forcibly  than  before  how 
unsubstantial  are  those  air-castles  which 
all  boys  are  inclined  to  build  and  connect 
with  their  own  future. 

In  no  single  respect  did  his  circus  life 
bear  any  resemblance  to  what  he  had 
supposed,  and  many  a  time  and  oft,  he 
recalled  the  parting  words  of  Captain  Rey 
nolds,  and  appreciated  their  truth  far  more 
than  at  the  time  of  their  utterance. 

The  dead  body,  after  the  inquest,  was 
carried  to  the  next  town,  where  it  was 
placed  in  the  hands  of  an  undertaker, 
and  the  arrangements  made  for  its  burial. 
Girton  assumed  all  expenses,  and  did 
everything  properly.  The  dead  lad  was 
without  a  living  relative,  so  far  as  any  one 


A    SLIP.  301 

knew,  so  that  after  his  interment  all  duty 
concerning  him,  it  may  be  said,  ended. 

The  parade  of  the  circus  and  the  per 
formance  in  the  afternoon  and  evening, 
took  place  despite  the  tragedy,  precisely 
as  announced,  and  not  one  among  the 
audience,  had  he  not  known  what  had 
happened,  would  have  suspected  that  the 
slightest  thing  was  amiss. 

Perkins,  although  somewhat  shaken 
from  his  debauch,  managed  to  pull  him 
self  together  and  Girton  consented  that 
he  should  appear  at  the  evening  perfor 
mance.  He  did  so  well  that  the  kind- 
hearted  director  patted  him  on  the  shoulder, 
and  told  him,  if  he  kept  it  up  he  would 
forgive  him  his  disgrace. 

The  route  having  been  laid  out,  and 
knowing  weeks  beforehand  the  precise 
date  at  which  he  would  be  at  certain  points, 
it  will  be  understood  that  it  was  the  easiest 
thing  in  the  world  for  Lew  Fenwick  to 
keep  up  his  correspondence  with  Captain 
Reynolds.  He  was  too  grateful  to  him 
for  his  friendship,  to  forget  this  duty,  and 


302  LIMBER   LEW. 

he  wrote  as  fully  and  freely  as  if  he  were 
an  older  brother.  The  captain  was  equally 
prompt  on  his  part,  and  his  extensive 
knowledge  of  the  world  and  its  ways, 
enabled  him  to  give  practical  advice,  whose 
benefit  the  lad  felt  every  day. 

The  first  thing  he  did  upon  reaching 
a  town  was  to  go  to  the  post  office,  where, 
as  he  expected,  he  generally  found  a  long 
letter  awaiting  him  from  his  friend. 

He  reported  nothing  specially  new  con 
cerning  home  affairs.  His  father  and 
mother  were  well,  and  Mr.  Gibbs  was  still 
teaching,  or  rather  tyrannizing,  in  the  old 
school  building.  Some  of  the  boys  oc 
casionally  inquired  about  Lew,  and  the 
general  belief  was  that  he  was  somewhere 
with  the  circus  and  menagerie;  but,  of 
course,  the  captain  could  give  them  little 
satisfaction.  He  then  added  his  usual 
sound  advice,  in  which  he  took  occasion 
to  remind  his  young  friend  that  his  ap 
prenticeship  in  the  show  business  was  not 
to  last  forever. 

The   evening   performance   was   largely 


A   SLIP.  303 

attended,  and  was  not  marked  by  any 
special  incident.  Lew  could  not  shake 
off  an  impressive  sadness  when  he  entered 
the  ring  and  saw  nothing  of  his  former 
acquaintance,  the  eldest  Rollo  boy. 

"He  was  rough  and  rude  to  me  some 
times,"  he  reflected;  " but  I  cannot  blame 
him,  for  he  had  a  bad  bringing  up,  and  I 
am  glad  I  never  quarreled  with  him." 

No  doubt  there  were  others  among  the 
adult  performers,  who  felt  saddened  by 
the  accident;  but,  if  such  was  the  case, 
they  avoided  all  manifestation  of  it. 

As  before,  the  establishment  was  on  the 
move  at  an  early  hour,  and  when  daylight 
dawned,  scarcely  a  vestige  was  visible 
of  the  grand  pageant  of  the  day  and  night 
previous. 

The  show  steadily  progressed  toward 
the  southwest,  most  of  the  performers 
going  by  rail  the  principal  part  of  the  time, 
for  the  success  of  the  enterprise,  as  a  rule, 
was  exceptional. 

The  employees  were  paid  regularly;  and 
since  Lew  had  comparatively  very  few 


304  LIMBER   LEW. 

personal  expenses,  and  Captain  Reynolds 
persisted  in  enclosing  him  a  ten  or  twenty 
dollar  bill  nearly  every  time  he  wrote,  he 
found  himself  accumulating  a  handsome 
bit  of  money. 

Perkins,  the  bare-back  rider,  made  so 
honest  and  determined  an  effort  to  reform, 
that  he  rapidly  regained  the  confidence 
of  his  employer,  and  despite  his  unfor 
tunate  failing,  was  such  a  favorite  with 
all,  that  they  rejoiced  over  the  prospect 
of  his  becoming  his  own  master  again. 

Lew  carefully  preserved  his  earnings 
so  as  to  be  prepared  for  the  important  step 
he  was  set  upon  taking,  when  the  proper 
time  should  come. 

He  knew  it  was  best  to  wait  till  they  were 
several  hundred  miles  from  Baldwinstown, 
the  home  of  the  good  old  ladies,  so  that 
when  they  should  make  their  way  thither, 
neither  Johnson  nor  any  of  the  officials 
would  know  where  to  look  for  them. 

But  it  was  hard  to  communicate  with 
Adualina.  Her  father  and  the  matron 
kept  a  close  guardianship  over  her,  and 


A   SLIP.  305 

days  frequently  passed  without  the  lad 
securing  more  than  a  nod,  as  they  were 
going  to  or  coming  from  the  performance. 
Lew  himself  had  such  a  terror  of  being  sus 
pected  of  the  design  in  his  mind,  that  he 
was  over-cautious. 

Girton's  extended  experience  made  him 
a  good  reader  of  human  nature,  and  he 
concluded  that  our  young  hero  had 
a  boyish  fancy  for  the  beautiful  girl — 
fancy  that  would  gradually  dissolve,  until 
he  would  come  to  look  upon  her  with  the 
same  indifference  as  did  the  others  of  the 
company.  No  one  suspected  the  purpose 
which  was  hardly  ever  absent  from  the 
waking  thoughts  of  the  two. 

More  than  once  he  meditated  writing 
to  her,  in  the  hope  of  establishing  a  better 
understanding  as  to  the  precise  plan  by 
which  their  flight  was  to  be  made;  but 
he  shrank  from  the  risk. 

If  a  letter  should  miscarry,  or  should 
fall  under  the  eye  of  the  matron,  or  John 
son,  or  Girton  himself,  the  result,  no  doubt, 
would  be  the  expulsion  of  Lew,  and  the 


306  LIMBER    LEW. 

utter  quenching  of  the  hope  he  entertained. 
So  he  refrained,  and  waited  and  watched 
for  the  chance  of  exchanging  a  few  words 
with  her. 

He  had  made  up  his  mind  that  the 
venture,  if  possible,  should  be  undertaken, 
at  a  town  known  as  Haymarket,  which, 
as  near  as  he  could  determine,  was  about 
four  hundred  miles  southwest  from  Bald- 
winstown,  where  dwelt  the  two  old  ladies: 
but  when  they  were  within  a  few  hours'  ride, 
Adualina  was  still  ignorant  of  his  intention. 
Conscious  of  the  necessity  of  her  knowing 
it,  he  determined  to  risk  the  chance  of 
committing  the  scheme  to  paper,  but  in 
such  a  way  that  no  one  but  the  girl  herself 
could  read  his  purpose. 

Precisely  how  this  should  be  done,  was 
the  problem.  At  the  hotel,  in  Haymar 
ket,  all  the  performers  were  seated  at  a 
long  table,  Girton  at  the  head,  Lew  at  the 
right  and  the  ladies  at  the  extreme  end. 
As  the  lad  did  not  believe  any  better 
chance  was  likely  to  present  itself,  he 
managed,  when  the  meal  was  about  fin- 


A    SLIP.  307 

ished,  to  let  a  painted  wooden  ball,  which 
he  was  in  the  habit  of  juggling,  drop  on 
the  floor,  giving  it  such  a  direction  that  it 
rolled  against  the  chair  of  Adualina.  As 
she  stooped  to  pick  it  up  he  was  there, 
and  their  hands  reached  for  it  at  the  same 
instant.  Very  dexterously,  and  without 
any  one  suspecting  his  purpose,  he  man 
aged  to  shove  a  tiny  slip  of  paper  in  her 
hand,  and  the  quick-witted  girl  transferred 
it  to  the  pocket  of  her  dress  in  the  same 
skillful  manner. 

When  Lew  walked  back  to  his  place 
at  the  table,  Girton  loked  so  sharply  and 
quizzically  at  him  that  his  face  turned 
scarlet.  He  was  almost  sure  he  had  de 
tected  the  little  trick,  although  his  friend 
said  nothing. 

"It's  all  up,  if  he  saw  it,"  the  boy  re 
flected,  feeling  as  if  he  would  give  words 
to  recall  the  awkwardly-managed  per 
formance;  "but  I  will  put  a  bold  face  on 
it,  if  caught." 

Adualina  was  hardly  less  frightened. 
From  the  way  the  matron  glanced  at  her, 


308  LIMBER   LEW. 

she  was  sure  she  suspected  some  mischief 
was  afoot,  although  the  little  one  did  her 
utmost  to  throw  the  elder  off  the  scent. 
It  was  some  time  before  the  girl  gained 
a  chance  to  look  at  the  slip  unobserved. 
When  she  did  so,  she  saw  written  on  it  in 
pencil  the  words: 

''At  Haymarket — after  the  performance — all  is  ready!" 

She  could  not  mistake  the  meaning  of 
this;  and  after  assuring  herself  that  nothing 
more  was  written  upon  it,  she  carefully 
chewed  the  slip  to  a  pulp,  and  spat  it 
where  not  even  the  eye  of  suspicion  could 
note  it. 

She  understood  that  Lew  had  determined 
to  make  the  attempt  to  flee  at  this  place, 
and  he  wished  her  to  be  ready  to  go  with 
him  directly  after  the  close  of  the  perfor 
mance. 

"I  will  do  it!"  she  said,  firmly,  to  her 
self.  "No  better  time  nor  place  could  be 
had,  and  I  cannot  see  why  we  shouldn't 
escape  as  easily  as  we  could  find  our  way 
back  to  the  hotel." 

Apparently   there   was   no   reason   why 


A    SLIP.  309 

they  should  not  succeed  in  getting  a  good 
start,  the  great  difficulty  being  in  main 
taining  their  flight,  after  fairly  under 
way. 

Adualina's  part  of  the  performance  would 
be  completed  some  twenty  minutes  before 
the  close  and  Lew's  still  earlier,  so  that 
abundant  time  was  likely  to  be  given  for 
all  the  preparation  they  needed.  It  was 
their  custom  after  finishing  their  parts 
to  don  their  street  suits,  so  that  they 
could  go  anywhere  without  attracting  un 
due  attention.  The  lad  would  have  his 
money  with  him,  and  that  was  all  that 
was  necessary. 

As  they  went  to  the  tent  their  glances 
met,  and  she  gave  him  a  look  and  nod, 
which  said,  as  plainly  as  could  words, 
" I  shall  be  ready!" 

The  assemblage  was  one  of  the  largest 
with  which  the  show  had  been  favored 
since  the  opening  of  the  season,  and  they 
were  so  demonstrative  and  clamorous  that 
many  of  the  acts  were  repeated,  and  the 
performance  itself  dragged  for  fully  three- 


310  LIMBER   LEW. 

quarters  of  an  hour  beyond  the  usual 
time. 

Lew  Fenwick  surpassed  himself.  Per 
haps  it  was  because  he  believed  it  was 
his  last  appearance  in  public,  and  because 
he  played  with  a  cool  indifference.  He 
felt  "in  his  bones"  that  he  couldn't  fail 
to-night,  and  when  he  sent  Little  Tom 
bounding  and  rolling  over  in  the  air  like 
a  rubber  ball,  and  caught  him  as  dexter 
ously  upon  his  feet  as  he  would  have 
received  a  bundle  of  clothes,  and  the  two 
united  and  mingled  in  their  somersaults, 
in  a  way  that  was  bewildering,  the  vast 
multitude  cheered  again  and  again,  until 
they  saw  that  both  boys  were  too  ex 
hausted  to  do  anything  more  than  bow 
their  acknowledgments  and  retire. 

The  same  tumultuous  greeting  awaited 
Adualina,  whose  beauty  and  modesty  in 
variably  won  upon  the  spectators  when 
she  made  her  essay  in  the  ring. 

She  rode  the  running  horses  with  grace 
and  skill,  bounding  over  the  obstructions 
that  constantly  presented  themselves,  and 


A   SLIP.  311 

after  the  usual  display  of  her  horsemanship, 
she  vanished,  to  reappear,  in  course  of 
half  an  hour,  and  perform  her  final  exploit 
of  walking  on  the  wire. 

As  she  came  forth,  she  was  received 
with  the  same  extravagant  welcome  as 
before,  she  being  compelled  to  acknow 
ledge  it  over  and  over  again. 

The  wire  which  she  generally  walked 
was  something  over  fifty  feet  in  length,  and 
was  stretched  between  two  poles,  at  an 
elevation  of  about  twenty  feet. 

Adualina  much  preferred  this  to  the 
ordinary  rope,  for  although  it  was  so 
small  as  to  cut  rather  sharply  into  the 
soles  of  her  moccasins,  yet  the  tenacity 
of  the  iron  made  it  much  the  stronger, 
and  then  she  liked  it  better  because  it 
remained  so  nearly  horizontal. 

She  ascended  at  one  end  by  means  of  a 
ladder,  took  her  balancing-pole,  which 
was  always  awaiting  her  there,  and  stepped 
upon  the  wire. 

Again  the  applause  broke  forth  and  she 
bowed  several  times 


312  LIMBER   LEW. 

It  is  the  custom  with  most  rope-walkers 
to  assume  a  timidity  and  uncertainty  of 
step,  which  they  really  do  not  feel.  Adua- 
lina  disdained  to  do  this,  and  she  walked 
evenly  and  surely,  until  she  reached  a 
point  midway  between  the  two  supports. 
Here  she  paused,  as  was  her  custom,  and 
gave  some  graceful  posturing  and  waltz- 
like  movements,  which  delighted  the  spec 
tators. 

Had  she  been  an  amateur,  her  head 
might  have  been  turned;  but  she  had 
become  accustomed  to  all  this  long  since, 
and  her  pulse  remained  as  even  as  when 
asleep  upon  her  couch. 

But  she  was  still  indulging  in  her  airy 
waltz-like  motions,  when,  from  some  cause 
or  other,  one  of  the  fastenings  gave  way, 
and  she  fell  violently  to  the  earth.  The 
accident  was  so  unexpected  that  she  had 
no  time  to  prepare  in  the  slightest  degree 
for  it. 

When  she  began  her  wire-walking,  a 
net  was  always  spread  beneath,  to  be 
ready  in  case  of  any  slip;  but  when,  after 


A   SLIP.  313 

a  time,  her  certainty  of  step  was  under 
stood,  this  was  dispensed  with  as  wholly 
unnecessary. 

Adualina  never  had  a  fall,  nor  is  it 
probable  she  ever  would,  had  not  somebody 
neglected  his  duty  in  putting  up  the  wire. 

As  the  spectators  saw  the  breakage, 
a  horrified  cry  went  up  from  many,  and 
all  rose  to  their  feet,  expecting  to  see 
her  killed,  or  badly  hurt. 

The  distance  was  not  great,  and  had 
she  suspected  what  was  coming,  her  dex 
terity  no  doubt  would  have  saved  her 
from  injury;  but  as  it  was,  she  struck 
upon  her  side  with  great  violence. 

The  ring-master  and  Perkins  were  both 
standing  in  the  ring,  looking  up  at  her, 
when  the  mishap  occurred,  and  within  a 
second  after  she  struck  the  ground,  they 
were  bending  over  her. 

Perkins  knew  she  was  hurt,  as  the 
balancing-pole  caught  beneath  her  hi  such 
an  ugly  way  as  to  give  her  a  violent  wrench. 

She  attempted  to  reply  to  their  in 
quiries,  but  before  she  could  do  so,  she 


314  LIMBER  LEW. 

swooned  and  raising  her  in  their  arms, 
they  bore  her  back  into  the  dressing- 
tent,  amid  wild  excitement,  many  of  the 
crowd  attempting  to  follow,  to  learn  the 
result  of  her  injuries. 

They  were  kept  back,  however,  and 
a  few  minutes  later,  the  ring-master  made 
his  appearance,  and  stepping  upon  a  chair, 
called  out  in  a  loud  voice,  saying  that 
he  was  happy  to  state  that  Senorita  Adua- 
lina  was  not  seriously  hurt.  She  was 
considerably  shaken  up,  but  no  bones 
were  broken,  and  if  she  were  permitted  to 
rest  in  quiet,  she  would  probably  be  herself 
again  in  the  course  of  an  hour. 

The  announcement  was  received  with 
cheers;  but  the  speaker  did  not  tell  all 
the  truth.  Adualina,  besides  being  badly 
bruised  about  her  body,  had  her  left  arm 
broken  between  the  shoulder  and  elbow. 
No  more,  during  the  present  season,  was 
she  to  appear  before  the  admiring  thous 
ands. 


THE   CLASP   OF   THE   HAND.  315 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE    CLASP    OF   THE    HAND. 

CAPTAIN  Reynolds  felt  lonely  after  the 
departure  of  Lew  Fenwick,  and  he 
missed  him  more  than  he  would  have 
been  willing  to  confess,  even  to  the  lad  him 
self.     He  spent  most  of  his  time  at  home, 
playing  with  his  baby,  of  which  he  was  ex 
tremely  fond,  talking  or  reading  to  his  wife, 
and  occasionally  taking  long  tramps  in  the 
wood. 

He  grew  angry  sometimes  when  he  re 
flected  upon  the  sorrowful  lot  of  Lew. 
It  was  strange  that  the  lad's  own  father, 
and  his  instructor,  without  either  seeming 
to  be  aware  of  it,  had  entered  into  a  part 
nership  to  make  his  life  wretched. 

"These  two  are  parts  of  an  infernal 
machine,"  he  remarked  one  summer  even 
ing  to  his  wife,  as  he  sat  on  his  porch  en 
joying  his  cigar.  "  Don't  you  see  that  if 


316  LIMBER   LEW. 

one  failed  to  play  the  fool  and  tyrant,  the 
other  would  follow  suit?  For  instance,  if 
Gibbs  was  a  sensible  human  being  instead 
of  a  torment  to  children,  Lew  would  have 
loved  to  go  to  school,  for  he  is  fond  of  study ; 
he  never  would  have  been  punished  there; 
and  as  his  father  based  all  his  lambastings 
upon  those  he  received  at  school,  why,  at 
home,  all  would  have  been  grace,  mercy  and 
peace.  Just  think  what  a  premium  was 
offered  to  that  boy  to  lie,  and  he  never  did 
it  to  save  himself  from  the  most  cruel  beat 
ings.  Do  you  know,  wife/ '  he  asked,  in  an 
appalled  undertone,  "that  I  sometimes 
suspect  that  I  would  be  tempted  to  pre 
varicate  under  such  circumstances?" 

"I'm  sure  you  would/'  she  replied,  with 
mock  solemnity. 

He  pinched  her  pretty  cheek,  and  whis 
pered  : 

"Hark!  didn't  the  baby  sneeze?" 

"Mercy!"  she  exclaimed,  starting  upr 
"what  has  happened?" 

"Nothing  at  all,"  he  laughed,  as  he 
caught  her  dress  and  drew  her  down  in  his 


THE   CLASP   OF   THE   HAND.  317 

lap.  "The  baby  didn't  sneeze.  I  only 
asked  the  question  to  pay  you  for  speaking 
so  slightingly  of  my  veracity.' ' 

He  kept  the  conversation  going  about 
Lew,  from  whom  he  had  received  a  letter 
that  day.  Several  weeks  had  passed  since 
his  departure,  and  the  accounts  he  received 
of  his  doings  were  interesting  to  both  him 
and  his  wife. 

"It  don't  seem  exactly  the  thing  to  help 
a  boy  in  running  away  from  his  home,  but 
this  case  is  different  from  all  others  I  ever 
heard  of,  and  different,  I  hope,  from  any 
that  I  shall  ever  meet  again.  I  think  a 
year's  knocking  about  with  the  circus  will 
do  Lew  good.  It  might  ruin  some  boys, 
but  his  principles  are  too  well  grounded  for 
that,  and  he  will  grow  a  great  deal  toward 
manhood  in  that  time." 

"But  how  about  the  judge?" 

"I  have  hope  that  it  will  do  him  still 
more  good.  I  have  been  very  angry  with 
him  every  time  we  met,  but  I  was  sorry  ten 
minutes  after.  He's  growing  old  and  fail 
ing;  he  is  becoming  too  fond  of  his  wine — 


318  LIMBER   LEW. 

in  short,  he  is  going  to  the  bad,  because 
the  wife  he  once  had,  who  was  most 
like  you,  is  succeeded  by  one  who  is  the 
opposite.  He  is  a  man  of  fine  mind,  but 
they  are  the  very  ones  who  need  a  wife  with 
good  practical  common  sense  to  lead  them 
about  by  the  nose." 

"How,  then,  will  the  absence  of  his  son 
do  him  good?' ' 

"It  will  set  him  to  thinking;  that's  the 
best  medicine  for  a  man  who  has  the  brains 
to  think  with.  Of  course  he  has  an  affec 
tion  for  his  boy,  although  I  have  sometimes 
doubted  it.  If  he  runs  down  in  health,  he 
will  be  compelled  to  stay  much  at  home, 
and  I  believe  he  will  begin  to  consider  the 
past,  and  I  have  some  hope  he  will  take 
a  step  toward  righting  it.  The  trouble 
with  these  old  fellows  is  that  they  are  so 
infernally  proud  they  would  rather  die  than 
come  down;  but  sickness,  sorrow,  and 
approaching  death,  are  pretty  sure 
to  bring  a  man  round  right  sooner  or 
later.' ' 

"Mercy!"  exclaimed  the  frightened  wife. 


THE    CLASP    OF   THE    HAND.  319 

"Do  you  think  it  is  as  bad  as  that?  Is  the 
judge  going  to  die?' ' 

"Can't  say,"  replied  the  captain,  ser 
iously.  "He's  a  high  liver,  and  it  looks  to 
me  as  if  he  had  started  down  hill,  and  he's 
just  the  kind  to  go  it  with  a  rush." 

"He  is  to  be  pitied,"  said  Mrs.  Reynolds, 
whose  heart  was  always  so  ready  to  go  out 
in  sympathy  to  others. 

(<When  he  lost  his  wife  Inez,  it  was  an 
affliction — ' 

"As  great  as  if  I  should  lose  you!" 
interrupted  the  captain,  drawing  her  face 
over  and  kissing  her.  "I  would  go  to  him 
this  minute  if  I  were  sure  he  would  not 
repel  me." 

"Why  not  run  the  risk?' '  was  the  woman 
like  query.  "It  couldn't  do  any 
harm.' ' 

"Yes,  it  would.  I  know  the  judge's 
nature  better  than  you.  If  I  should  walk 
over  there  to-night  and  offer  him  my  hand, 
the  chances  are  a  hundred  to  one  that  he 
would  repel  me  with  scorn — and  the  evil 
of  it  is,  it  would  last !  Now,  if  I  stay  away 


320  LIMBER   LEW. 

while  this  thawing  process  is  going  on,  there 
will  be  no  such  risk." 

The  wife  was  inclined  to  suspect  her 
husband  of  framing  an  ingenious  theory  to 
excuse  his  own  pride;  but  she  believed  it 
better  to  leave  him  to  himself,  satisfied 
that  he,  too,  would  "thaw' '  all  in  good  time. 

This  course  was  carried  out  in  both  cases. 
Judge  Fenwick  and  his  wife  were  unmolested, 
so  far  as  Captain  Reynolds  and  his  wife 
were  concerned. 

The  summer  merged  into  fall,  the  fall 
into  winter,  and  spring  came,  but  not  once 
had  either  family  crossed  the  threshold  of 
the  other. 

The  captain,  however,  kept  a  furtive 
watch  over  his  friend,  and  more  than  once 
remarked  that  he  was  gradually  thawing. 
He  was  thinner  in  face  and  form,  he  wore  a 
troubled  look,  and  in  fact  had  the  appear 
ance  of  a  man  who  carried  a  secret  sorrow. 

" Remorse — I'm  satisfied  it's  remorse!" 
whispered  the  captain  to  his  wife.  "I'm 
sure  he  can't  hold  out  a  great  while  longer. 
He  must  soon  tumble." 


THE    CLASP    OF   THE   HAND.  321 

The  spring,  however,  merged  into  summer 
and  still  there  was  no  sign;  but  about  this 
time,  Judge  Fenwick  grew  so  pale  and 
weak  that  the  captain  was  alarmed.  He 
met  him  accidentally  on  their  walks,  and 
could  not  conceal  his  surprise. 

It  was  then  the  captain  took  the  first  step 
toward  reconciliation. 

"Good-afternoon,  judge!"  he  called  out, 
in  his  pleasantest  voice,  the  old  gentleman 
too  much  amazed  to  return  the  salute. 

"I  don't  know  whether  it  was  wise  in  me 
or  not,"  the  captain  said,  at  the  tea-table, 
when  he  related  the  circumstance.  "I  am 
afraid  it  will  repel  him.  He  is  such  a  stern 
and  proud  old  fellow  that  it  will  make  him 
freeze  up  tighter  than  ever." 

"I'm  sure  it  won't. 

"Now,  wife,  I  understand  human  nature 
better  than  you.  You  admit  that." 

"I  don't  see  why  I  must,"  she  said,  with 
a  smile.  "It  has  never  been  proven  to  me 
as  yet." 

"  Because  you  shut  your  eyes  to  the  truth. 
I  am  satisfied  that,  if  I  hadn't  noticed  the 


322  LIMBER   LEW. 

judge,  he  would  have  thawed  out  inside  of 
a  month.  As  it  is,  I  must  wait  three 
months  at  least." 

"And  I'm  satisfied  you  are  mistaken. 
You  have  unconsciously  hastened  the  day 
of  reconciliation  between  you." 

"Well,  time  will  prove  the  truth  and 
wisdom  of  what  I  say!"  said  the  captain, 
loftily.  "You  wait  and  see — Hello!  there 
goes  the  bell!" 

A  few  moments  later,  Bridget  came  to  the 
dining-room  and  said : 

"It's  Tom,  from  the  Joodge's,  and  he 
says  the  Joodge  told  him  to  ask  if  ye 
would  come  over  and  spend  the  evening  with 
him,  if  ye  could  find  the  same  convani- 
ent." 

"Tell  Tom  to  say  to  the  judge  that  I  will 
go  with  pleasure  within  a  half-hour." 

As  soon  as  Bridget  was  out  of  the  room, 
the  captain  rose  and  reached  his  hand 
across  the  table  to  his  laughing  wife. 

"Let  us  shake  hands  across  the  chasm. 
I'll  be  hanged  if  you  don't  know  more  in 
five  minutes  than  I  do  in  a  month;  only  I'll 


THE    CLASP    OF   THE    HAND.  323 

be  obliged  to  you  if  you  don't  smile  quite 
so  loud  over  it." 

"I  won't,"  she  said;  "for  I  am  anxious 
and  disturbed.  I  believe  the  judge's  life  is 
in  danger,  and  he  knows  it." 

"I  am  so  glad  he  has  sent  for  me!"  said 
the  captain.  "I  wish  I  had  spoken  to  him 
a  month  ago.  It  has  taken  away  all  my 
appetite.' ' 

"I  wouldn't  wait.     Go  at  once." 

"So  I  will — so  I  will.  Suppose  you  go 
along  and  talk  with  his  wife?" 

"That  would  be  overdoing  it.  If  she 
inquires  about  me,  invite  her  to  come  over 
and  spend  the  evening;  otherwise  wait  till 
you  are  ready  to  leave  before  you  do  so. 
Don't  forget  the  judge's  health,  and  tax  it 
too  much,  in  your  excitement." 

Captain  Reynolds  lost  no  time  in  making 
his  way  to  the  home  of  Judge  Fenwick, 
speculating  on  the  way  as  to  the  turn  the 
interview  was  likely  to  take.  He  was  glad 
for  so  long  as  the  coldness  continued  be 
tween  them,  he  felt  there  was  no  hope  for 
Lew.  Now  he  saw  the  glimmering  of  light. 


324  LIMBER   LEW. 

Mrs.  Fen  wick  met  the  captain  at  the  door, 
in  a  sweetly  subdued  manner,  and  softly 
inquired  as  to  the  health  of  his  wife,  and 
then  conducted  him  to  the  door  of  the 
library,  where  she  left  him. 

"You  needn't  knock,  captain;  he  is  ex 
pecting  you." 

Nevertheless,  the  captain  tapped  the 
door  gently,  to  announce  his  coming,  and 
then  opened  and  entered. 

The  night  was  quite  warm,  but  there  was 
a  fire  in  the  grate,  and  the  judge  was  sitting 
before  it,  in  his  easy  chair,  his  heavy  wrapper 
on,  and  such  a  white,  feeble,  worn-out  look 
in  his  face  that  it  was  hard  for  his  visitor 
to  conceal  his  emotion. 

Stepping  briskly  across  the  room,  he 
extended  his  hand,  which  was  clasped  by 
the  cold,  raven-like  fingers  of  the  invalid. 

"Judge,  I  hope  you  feel  better  than  you 
look,"  exclaimed  the  caller,  in  his  cheery 
tone,  feeling  that  it  would  be  idle  to  at 
tempt  any  hypocrisy  over  his  appearance. 

"I  seem  to  be  weak  and  debilitated, 
captain,  thank  you,  but  I  suffer  no  pain — 


THE    CLASP    OF  THE    HAND.  325 

that  is,  no  bodily  pain.  How  fortunate 
you  are  in  possessing  such  a  physique!'7 
he  added,  as  his  eyes  ran  admiringly  up  and 
down  the  lithe,  willowy  frame  that  towered 
so  magnificently  above  him.  "Do  you 
know  what  sickness  is?" 

"I  rather  guess  so,"  replied  the  captain, 
glad  of  the  social  turn  the  interview  took 
at  the  beginning.  "I  think  I  have  suffered 
more  in  a  day  than  you  have  in  your  life 
time.  Two  of  us  went  raving  crazy  in 
Australia,  some  years  ago,  because  we  could 
get  no  water.  We  strayed  away  from  the 
rest  of  the  party,  and  in  our  delirium,  we 
pounded,  and  hammered,  and  clawed  each 
other,  like  a  couple  of  wild  cats.  When  the 
rest  of  the  boys  found  us,  we  were  lying 
in  the  brush,  bleeding  and  exhausted,  with 
our  clothes  torn  to  shreds.  It  took  us  a 
week  to  get  over  that,  during  which  we 
suffered — that  is,  somewhat.  Then  again, 
when  I  got  bitten  by  a  cobra  di  capello,  in 
India—" 

"I  thought  their  bite  was  always  fatal." 
"It  generally  is;  but  there  are  a  few 


326  LIMBER   LEW. 

native  physicians  who  can  cure  it.  I  was 
in  the  bamboo  hut  of  one  of  them  at  the 
time,  and  he  took  me  in  hand  at  once.  In 
order  to  eliminate  the  poison  from  my 
system,  I  think  he  boiled,  afterward  roasted 
and  then  smothered  me.  During  all  this 
time  I  was  drinking  a  composition  that  I 
suspected  was  concentrated  sulphuric  acid, 
quinine  and  the  essence  of  castor  oil,  which 
last  to  me  is  the  most  nauseous  dose  under 
the  whole  heavens.  However,  let  that  go. 
What  seems  to  be  the  trouble,  judge?' ' 

"  Doctor  Leavitt  says  it  is  nothing  but 
weakness,  and  he  professes  to  think  I  will 
rally,  by  and  by,  while  all  the  time  I  feel 
that  I  am  steadily  losing  ground,  and  I 
don't  believe  that  I  am  going  to  last  much 
longer.' ' 

"I  hope  you  will  see  many  good  long 
years,"  replied  the  captain,  in  his  own 
bracing  voice,  which  carried  a  peculiar  tonic 
with  it.  "What  an  absurd  fashion  the 
American  profession  has  of  dying  off  just 
as  its  members  reach  the  prime  of  their 
powers.' ' 


THE    CLASP   OF  THE    HAND.  327 

"You  know,  captain,  I  was  compelled  to 
give  up  my  duties  six  weeks  ago,  and  to 
night  I  am  weaker  than  I  ever  have  been. 
You  and  I  are  not  children,  and  so  do  not  let 
us  talk  like  children.  I  am  going — that's 
as  plain  to  you  as  it  is  to  me.  That  subject 
being  settled,  let  us  proceed  to  the  next. 
Captain,  I  sent  for  you  to  apologize  for  the 
rudeness  I  have  shown — " 

"There,  there,  there!"  protested  Rey 
nolds,  trying  to  hide  the  tremor  in  his  voice. 
"I  pray  you  don't  mention  it!  I  am  a 
younger  man  than  you,  and  I  was  the  first 
to  lose  my  temper.  It  was  my  duty  to 
make  the  apology  months  ago." 

"Well,"  said  the  judge,  with  a  deep  sigh, 
"we  are  friends  again.  The  past  is  past, 
captain.  I  haven't  come  to  the  real  point 
yet;  I  have  a  favor  to  ask  of  you." 

"Let  there  be  no  hesitation  in  asking  it." 

"/  want  my  boy  to  come  back  to  me  before 
I  dier 

The  judge  would  have  added  more,  but 
he  broke  down.  There  were  no  tears  in  his 
eyes,  but  leaning  his  elbow  upon  the  arm  of 


328  LIMBER   LEW. 

the  chair,  he  rested  his  white  cheek  against 
his  still  whiter  hand,  and  looked  down  in  the 
grate,  like  a  carved  image  of  grief.  Then, 
without  moving  his  gaze,  he  said,  as  if  think 
ing  aloud: 

"  God's  hand  has  been  laid  upon  me,  and 
during  the  past  few  weeks  the  scales  have 
fallen  from  my  eyes.  When  my  boy  left 
my  home,  I  was  too  proud  to  show  any 
sorrow,  or  to  attempt  to  bring  him  back, 
feeling  that  he  alone  was  to  blame.  I 
saw  then  through  a  glass  darkly;  but  my 
vision  is  cleared.  It  was  I  who  drove  him 
forth.  I  did  everything  to  make  a  liar  and 
bad  boy  of  him,  but  failed, .  In  conjunction 
with  the  tyrant  Gibbs,  I  caused  his  home  to 
become  so  unbearable  that  I  thrust  him  out 
into  the  world.  Where  is  he  now,  I  know 
not.  Do  you,  cap?"  he  asked,  the  in 
valid  turning  sharply  toward  his  visitor. 

It  was  no  use.  The  latter  was  swallow 
ing  and  clearing  his  throat,  and  blowing  his 
nose ;  but  now  the  handkerchief  went  to  his 
eyes,  and  it  was  several  minutes  before  he 
could  regain  his  self-possession. 


THE  CLASP   OF   THE    HAND.  329 

A  year  ago,  Judge  Fenwick  was  haughty, 
aristocratic,  self-willed,  and  imperious,  now 
he  was  wan,  feeble,  sorrow-stricken,  and 
utterly  wretched. 

"The  fountains  of  the  deep  are  broken 
up,"  he  added,  in  the  hope  of  helping  his 
friend  to  speak;  " there  is  no  other  to  whom 
I  would  talk  thus.  I  was  the  enemy  of  my 
son;  you  have  been  his  friend.  My  only 
wish  now  is  to  feel  his  arms  about  my  neck 
before  I  die." 

"You  shall — you  shall!"  exclaimed  the 
captain,  springing  up  and  pacing  the  room. 
"Lew  and  I  have  kept  up  a  correspondence 
ever  since  he  went  away.  He  is  somewhere 
in  the  South  or  West.  I  will  telegraph 
him  to-morrow  to  come  at  once.  He  will 
be  here  in  a  few  days — I  will  guarantee  that. 
Rest  easy,  judge;  your  prayers  shall  be 
granted.' ' 

"He  went  away  with  that  circus,  didn't 
he?" 

"Yes.  You  know  he  was  very  active 
and  supple,  and  they  urged  him  to  do  so, 
otherwise  he  would  not  have  thought  of  it.' ' 


330  LIMBER   LEW. 

"How  long  since  you  heard  from  him?" 

"About  a  fortnight,  I  think." 

"Where  was  he  then?" 

"He  was  on  his  way  to  Texas,  I  believe. 
I  have  a  list  of  their  appointments  ahead, 
so  I  know  just  where  to  reach  him  with  a 
telegram.' ' 

"And  did  he  write  regularly  to  you?" 

"He  has  never  failed  to  do  so." 

"  I  don't  suppose  he  ever  asked  about  me? 

The  timid,  doubting,  yearning  tone  with 
which  this  was  asked  cannot  be  described, 
nor  the  eager,  happy  promptness  with  which 
the  captain  answered: 

"He  has  never  written  me  a  letter  with 
out  inquiring  particularly  about  you.  No 
son  can  love  a  parent  more  than  he  loves 
you,  and  none  can  be.- happier  than  he  will 
be  when  he  learns  of  our  interview  to-night." 

"The  loss  of  Lew's  mother  was  irrepar 
able,"  mused  the  greatly  relieved  judge. 
"She  understood  the  boy's  nature  perfectly, 
and  to  her  under  heaven,  is  due  the  stab 
ility  he  has  shown  in  his  good  principles. 
The  present  Mrs.  Fen  wick  has  done  the  best 


THE    CLASP   OF   THE   HAND.  331 

she  could,  but  she  has  no  children  of  her 


own.' 


"And  some,  like  the  first  Mrs.  Fen  wick 
and  Mrs.  Reynolds,  are  peculiarly  gifted  in 
the  management  of  children,  while  the 
majority  of  mankind  know  no  more  about 
home  discipline  than  you  and  I.  Don't 
you  think,  judge,  when  we  get  Lew  back 
home  again,  you  will  pick  up?" 

"I  don't  know — I  don't  know,"  replied 
the  elder,  feebly,  but  with  a  tinge  of  cheer 
fulness  and  hope,  which  his  visitor  was 
quick  to  perceive.  "It  will  do  a  great  deal 
toward  my  peace  of  mind.  Then,  I  want 
the  boy  here  when  I  am  called  away,  for  you 
are  to  be  his  guardian — " 

"Tut !  tut !' '  interrupted  the  captain,  with 
his  infectious  laugh;  "the  time  hasn't  come 
to  talk  about  that.  You  aren't  going  to 
peg  out  just  yet,  and  I  feel  that  you  are  to 
see  the  day  when  you  shall  dandle  your 
grandchildren  on  your  knee.  What  do  you 
say  to  that?" 

"Ah,  cap,  you  would  make  a  stone  image 
laugh!"  smiled  the  invalid. 


332  LIMBER   LEW. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE  TELEGRAPH. 

4  4  'T^HE  whirligig  of  time  brings  all  things 
1  right/ '  muttered  Captain  Reynolds, 
as  he  walked  homeward,  in  high 
feather.  "  I  don't  think  the  judge  is  going  to 
die  very  soon,  though  he  does  look  bad.  His 
case  is  one  of  the  kind  which  will  be  wonder 
fully  helped  by  the  sight  of  his  boy,  who  will 
be  here  in  a  few  days.  I'll  go  down  to  Birm 
ingham  in  the  morning,  and  send  a  telegram 
for  him.  He'll  be  glad  to  come;  I  know  he 
will." 

It  was  yet  quite  early  for  such  a  night- 
bird  as  the  captain,  who  sauntered  along  the 
path  leading  to  his  own  home,  smoking  his 
inevitable  cigar. 

"  How  tickled  Pet  will  be !' '  he  mumured, 
calling  his  wife  by  the  name  which  was  his 
favorite.  "She's  just  the  smartest,  pret 
tiest,  sweetest  creature  that  ever  wore  call- 


THE   TELEGBPH.  333 

co,  and  I'm  the  biggest  fool  alongside  of  her 
— let  me  see,  I  think  I've  got  that  schedule 
with  me." 

He  hurriedly  searched  his  coat-pockets, 
and  finally  drew  out  a  memorandum  book. 
Then  he  cleared  the  ashes  from  the  tip  of  his 
cigar,  and  "  pulled"  so  vigorously  at  it  that 
he  secured  all  the  light  he  needed. 

"  To-day  is  the  23d,"  he  muttered,  as 
well  as  he  could  with  the  weed  between  his 
lips,  and  while  he  held  the  penciled  page 
directly  before  the  glowing  end,  "and  to 
morrow  of  course  will  be  the  24th.  Let's 
see  where  the  shebang  is  advertised  to  be  on 
that  day.  Ah,  here  we  are! — 22d,  23d, 
24th.  Why,  I  was  a  little  off  the  track;  they 
have  already  been  in  Texas,  and  are  working 
northward  again.  On  the  24th  they  will 
be  at  Little  Rock,  Arkansas.  As  a  matter 
of  course  I  can  get  a  dispatch  through  to 
that  place  without  trouble.  Then,  if  Lew 
starts  at  once,  he  ought  to  be  here  by  the 
end  of  the  week." 

He  replaced  his  book,  and  sauntered  over 
the  dark  path,  puffing  more  leisurely  at  his 


334  LIMBER   LEW. 

cigar,  and  speculating  pleasantly  about  the 
future. 

As  he  anticipated,  his  wife  was  awaiting 
him,  and  the  baby  being  asleep,  she  joined 
him  on  the  piazza,  where  he  gave  the  par 
ticulars  of  the  interview  with  the  judge, 
ending,  or  rather  beginning  with  their 
complete  reconciliation.  The  couple  talked 
long  together,  and  kept  it  up,  after  they 
retired,  for  nearly  another  hour. 

Mounted  on  his  coal-black  steed,  Captain 
Reynolds  galloped  to  town  at  an  early  hour 
the  succeeding  morning,  and  entering  the 
Western  Union  Office,  inquired  whether 
they  could  send  a  message  through  to  Little 
Rock,  Arkansas. 

"Yes,  sir,"  replied  the  beardless  youth; 
"but  if  it  is  long,  it  will  cost  considerable." 

"Who  the  deuce  asked  you  about  the 
cost?  Can  you  send  it  at  once?" 

The  youth  turned  to  another,  who  was 
sitting  at  the  clicking  instrument,  and  re 
peated  the  question.  He  nodded  in  the 
affirmative,  without  speaking  or  stopping 
work. 


THE   TELEGRAPH.  335 

"Yes,  sir;  we  can  attend  to  it  for  you." 
A  young  beginner  always  speaks  of  what 
"we"  can  do,  if  he  consider  himself  one  of 
the  proprietors. 

The  captain  turned  to  the  desk,  and 
without  pausing  to  read  over  the  directions 
about  night  and  day  messages,  and  the 
suggestion  to  "repeat"  his  dispatch,  in 
order  to  make  sure  of  its  accuracy  (as  if  it 
is  not  the  business  of  operators  to  be  cor 
rect),  he  dashed  off  the  following: 

"To  George  Girton,  with  Simpson's  Circus  and  Menag 
erie,  Little  Rock,  Arkansas:  Is  Lewis  Fenwick  with  you? 
Answer  at  once.  I  have  important  news  for  him. 

R.  REYNOLDS." 

Since  it  would  take  some  tune  to  deliver 
the  message,  the  sender  paid  the  charges, 
remounted  his  steed,  and  took  a  gallop 
through  the  country.  He  came  back  in 
the  course  of  an  hour,  only  to  be  told  that 
no  answer  had  been  returned. 

"But  we're  expecting  it  every  minute," 
was  the  information  of  the  youth. 

"Suppose  you  'call'  the  office,"  suggested 
the  captain. 


336  LIMBER   LEW. 

Just  as  the  telegraphist  was  about  to 
do  so,  he  added : 

"Here  she  comes!" 

And  then  he  began  writing  upon  a  blank 
beside  him,  while  the  impatient  captain 
thought  there  was  more  deliberation  about 
the  business  than  there  was  any  necessity 
for. 

Finally  the  message  was  handed  him 
through  the  slide,  with  the  announcement 
of  the  cost,  and  he  read,  with  no  little  con 
sternation,  the  following: 

"To  R.  Reynolds :  Lewis  Fenwick  has  not  been  with  us 
for  a  week  past.  GIRTON." 

Almost  instantly  flashed  back  the  ques 
tions  : 

"Where  is  he?  Why  did  he  leave?  Send  full  par 
ticulars.  " 

The  captain  was  not  kept  waiting  so 
long  for  a  reply,  for  the  man,  hundreds 
of  miles  away,  at  the  other  end  of  the  line, 
was  evidently  expecting  something  more. 
He  ended  the  lightning  correspondence 
with  the  following  dispatch: 


THE    TELEGRAPH.  337 

"He  gave  us  the  slip,  leaving  in  the  night.  Suppose 
he  is  on  his  way  home.  Have  no  idea  where  he  is  just 
now.  Served  us  a  shabby  trick,  and  put  himself  in  a 
bad  box.  GIRTON." 

Captain  Reynolds  paid  the  charges,  and 
rode  home  at  a  slower  gait  than  before, 
reading  over  the  telegram  a  half-dozen 
times  on  the  way,  and  now  and  then  looking 
on  the  other  side  of  the  paper,  to  see 
whether  there  was  anything  that  had 
escaped  his  eye. 

"Well,  if  that  don't  get  me!"  he  mut 
tered.  "It's  too  bad!  Just  as  I  want 
to  communicate  with  him,  I'm  bluffed  off. 
It  can't  be  that  Girton  has  deceived  me. 
No;  Lew  has  given  him  too  good  a  name 
for  that.  It  must  be  the  youngster  has 
taken  French  leave;  but  I  can't  under 
stand  why,  for  his  very  last  letter  told  me 
that  he  was  well-treated,  and  had  his 
wages  raised.  What  does  that  man  mean 
by  saying  the  boy  has  put  himself  in  a  bad 
box?  He  needn't  take  the  trouble  to  hint 
to  me  anything  of  that  kind,  for  I  know 
better.  It's  more  likely  that  he  has  put 
the  show  in  a  bad  box,  by  depriving  it 


338  LIMBER   LEW. 

of  his  services.  Girton's  mad,  and  I  am 
glad — that  is,  if  I  only  knew  how  to  reach 
Lew.  Somehow  or  other  I  can't  believe 
he  is  on  his  way  home.  If  he  was,  he 
ought  to  be  here  by  this  time.  But  what 
started  him  in  this  direction  so  suddenly? 
There  must  have  been  some  extraordinary 
cause,  and  it's  more  than  I  can  fathom. 
I  wonder  whether  Pet  can  help  me?" 

In  due  time  the  problem  was  laid  be 
fore  her,  and  her  assistance  asked. 

"There's  only  one  thing  I  feel  sure  about, ' ' 
she  remarked,  after  the  matter  had  been 
freelv  discussed,  "and  that  is,  he  hasn't 

«/ 

started  homeward." 

"Why  are  you  so  sure  of  that?" 
"Because  there  can  be  no  reasonable 
cause  for  his  doing  so.  He  has  had  no 
assurance  from  you  that  he  would  be  wel 
come.  I  think,"  continued  the  sharp- 
witted  wife,  "that  he  is  carrying  out  some 
scheme  which  he  planned  long  ago.  Have 
you  noticed  nothing  in  his  letters  which 
made  you  suspicious?" 

"Not  a  sentence.     If  it  is  as  you  sup- 


THE    TELEGRAPH.  339 

pose,  he  has  kept  one  secret,  at  least,  from 
me.  He  has  never  hinted  anything  of  the 
kind." 

"He  is  carrying  out  some  plan  of  his  own. 
Very  probably  he  has  a  companion  in  it — 
some  boy  of  his  own  age — and  they  have 
gone  off  to  try  their  fortunes  together." 

"You  are  pretty  good  at  figuring  out 
things,  Pet,  but  I  can  hardly  believe  Lew 
would  deliberately  enter  upon  a  scheme 
of  that  kind  without  apprising  me  be 
forehand." 

"There  is  the  difficulty  you  speak  of; 
but  it  is  the  only  solution  I  can  give  at 
present.  It  may  be  he  has  been  drawn 
into  some  quarrel,  and  has  been  frightened 
into  running  away;  but  I  can  hardly  be 
lieve  it." 

Having  bumped  against  the  wall  in  this 
direction,  they  were  compelled  to  turn  and 
grope  toward  some  other  point. 

The  captain  had  counted  so  confidently 
upon  bearing  to  Judge  Fenwick  the  answer 
of  his  son  that  he  grieved  to  think  of  the 
disappointment. 


340  LIMBER   LEW. 

"I  guess  I  will  go  over  and  tell  him," 
he  said,  after  the  couple  had  discussed 
the  matter  for  some  time  longer.  "He 
will  expect  it,  and  will  fret  if  he  don't 
hear  from  me." 

Reaching  the  residence  of  the  judge, 
the  captain  found  him  sitting,  as  usual,  in 
the  library,  reading  the  morning  paper, 
and  looking,  in  the  glare  of  the  sunlight, 
more  wan  and  pale  than  the  evening  before. 

The  caller  explained  the  situation  as 
briefly  and  clearly  as  he  could,  the  old 
man  listening  with  rapt  and  painful  at 
tention. 

"I  understand  it  all,  I  think,"  he  said, 
as  he  let  his  paper  fall  in  his  lap.  "He 
has  feared  some  summons  of  this  kind, 
and  has  purposely  put  himself  out  of  the 
way,  so  we  could  not  reach  him." 

Captain  Reynolds  was  surprised  and 
saddened  by  this  remark.  There  was  a 
peevishness  in  it,  which  he  never  expected 
to  hear  from  the  lips  of  such  a  man.  He 
thought  it  betrayed  mental  as  well  as 
physical  decline. 


THE   TELEGRAPH.  341 

"You  ought  not  to  speak  that  way," 
said  the  captain  in  a  tone  of  gentle  reproof. 
"  Nothing  in  the  world  could  induce  Lew 
to  act  such  a  part.  There  is  some  cause 
which  none  of  us  can  understand,  but 
which  will  be  explained  in  due  time." 

"After  I  am  dead  and  gone,"  sighed  the 
judge.  "Well,  cap,  you  will  make  it 
all  right  with  him  if  we  don't  meet  in  this 
world,  will  you?" 

Captain  Reynolds  took  another  tack. 
He  laughed  and  then  immediately  apol 
ogized. 

"I  really  couldn't  help  it,  judge.  Let 
me  see — you  are  sixty  years  of  age,  ain't 
you?" 

"Not  quite — only  fifty-four.  But  what 
has  that  to  do  with  my  breaking  down?" 
he  asked  petulantly. 

"Considerable.  Twenty-five  or  thirty 
years  from  now  I'll  forgive  you  for  talking 
in  this  dolorous  style;  but  none  of  it  at 
present,  if  you  please.  The  fact  is — and 
you  will  allow  me  to  speak  plainly — you 
have  been  worked  pretty  hard;  you  haven't 


342  LIMBER   LEW. 

had   any   exercise,    and   you   have   grown 
into  the  habit  of  taking  too  much  wine." 

The  judge  turned  suddenly  toward  him, 
with  an  angry  expression,  but  checked 
himself  and  said  nothing.  He  knew  the 
words  were  true,  and  he  was  startled  when 
his  friend  showed  that  he  had  noticed  the 
fact. 

" These  two  causes,"  continued  the  cap 
tain,  "have  affected  you,  but  the  main 
trouble  just  now  is  about  Lew.  You  are 
becoming  morbid  and  misanthropic.  You 
must  throw  off  this  oppression.  Get  out 
of  doors  in  the  sunlight;  take  long  walks 
in  the  woods,  where  you  can  sniff  the  pine 
and  the  cedar,  and  when  you  want  to  loaf, 
why  use  my  porch.  You  can  tell  me  some 
of  your  law  reminiscences,  and  I'll  give 
you  that  joke  about  the  time  I  turned 
cannibal,  and  helped  to  eat  a  genuine 
Malay.  And  I  say,  judge,"  the  irre 
pressible  captain  added,  leaning  over  and 
speaking  in  a  confidential  whisper,  "I've 
got  a  new  brand  of  cigars — they're  prime— 
and  we'll  cock  our  heels  upon  the  railing 


THE   TELEGRAPH.  343 

and  smoke,  and  we'll  both  wear  the  belt 
by  turns,  as  being  the  champion  laziest 
men  in  the  country.  What  do  you  say, 
my  boy?" 

And  the  audacious  captain  actually 
slapped  the  invalid's  shoulder,  then  slapped 
his  own  knee,  threw  back  his  head,  and 
laughed  till  he  made  everything  ring  again. 

There  is  no  resisting  the  contagion  of 
overflowing  health  and  good  humor,  and 
Judge  Fenwick  began  smiling  very  hard, 
and  felt  very  good. 

"Come,  that  ain't  half  enough;  I  don't 
want  a  grin;  I  want  an  old-fashioned 
laugh!"  exclaimed  the  captain,  whacking 
his  shoulder  again.  "Out  with  it,  for  it's 
got  to  come." 

"Oh!  you'll  kill  me,  cap!"  protested 
the  judge,  who  came  near  falling  from  the 
chair,  because  of  the  laughter  that  shook  him. 

"Now  you  feel  a  thousand  per  cent, 
better.  I  know  you  do;  it's  worth  more 
than  a  gallon  of  physic.  Put  on  your 
hat,  take  a  cane,  and  walk  over  to  our 
house.  Come,  you've  got  to  do  it." 


344  LIMBER   LEW. 

"Well,  there's  no  helping  it,"  meekly 
replied  the  judge,  as  he  proceeded  to  obey, 
conscious  at  the  same  time  that  the  laugh 
had  done  him  an  immense  deal  of  good. 

There's  no  medicine  in  the  world  like  a 
good,  ringing,  rollicking,  earthquake  sort 
of  laugh.  " There's  millions  in  it." 

At  the  home  of  the  captain,  Mrs.  Rey 
nolds  joined  the  council  of  war,  and  they 
compared  theories  as  to  the  best  manner 
of  reaching  Lew.  The  judge  himself  finally 
struck  the  method  which  was  adopted. 

It  was  agreed  to  insert  advertisements 
in  a  dozen  of  the  principal  leading  papers 
in  the  West,  calling  upon  Lewis  Fenwick 
to  communicate  at  once  with  Captain 
Reynolds,  by  telegraph. 

This  was  done  without  a  day's  unneces 
sary  delay,  and  the  captain  expected 
speedy  results. 

But  the  days  wore  by,  and  not  a  word 
was  heard  from  the  lad.  The  captain 
began  to  feel  anxious  and  troubled,  and  the 
judge  became  despondent  once  more. 

"I  shall  never  see  him  again;  I  drove 


THE   TELEGRAPH.  345 

him  from  home;  he  is  gone — he  is  gone! 
we  are  never  to  meet  in  this  world.  I 
know  it;  I  feel  it!" 

These  words  were  said  with  a  deep 
conviction  of  their  truth,  and  in  a  voice  of 
desponding  sadness. 


346  LIMBER  LEW. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE  HOUR  AT  HAND. 

IT  now  becomes  necessary  to  take  the 
back  trail  for  a  short  time,  but  it  shall 
be  done  on  the  jump,  and  we  shall 
return  with  as  little  delay  as  possible. 

When  we  last  referred  to  Lew  Fenwick 
and  Adualina,  it  will  be  remembered  that 
it  was  to  record  the  fall  of  the  latter  from 
a  wire,  by  which  she  broke  her  arm,  and 
brought  to  naught,  for  the  time,  their 
scheme  of  flight. 

The  fracture  proved  worse  than  was  sus 
pected,  and  the  surgeon  who  took  her  in 
charge  declared  there  was  no  possibility  of 
her  appearing  again  this  year.  At  this  time 
the  summer  was  over,  and  the  ordinary 
show  season  closed  with  the  setting  in  of 
cold  weather;  but  Girton,  who  was  really 
the  acting  head  of  the  concern,  had  about 
made  up  his  mind,  to  keep  it  on  the  road, 


THE    HOUR   AT   HAND.  347 

by  going  still  farther  south,  and  probably 
into  Central  and  South  America. 

The  accident  to  Adualina,  united  with 
the  loss  of  the  eldest  Rollo  boy,  and  the 
death  of  the  best  trained  horse  in  his 
possession,  caused  him  to  change  his  mind. 
He  decided  to  disband  in  the  month  of 
October,  making  a  contract  with  all  of  his 
performers  to  assemble  in  St.  Louis  on  the 
first  of  the  succeeding  April,  when  they 
would  take  the  road  again .  This  was  done — 
all  the  cumbrous  material  of  the  show  being 
carefully  stowed  away,  the  horses  and  ani 
mals  put  into  winter  quarters — and  the  gor 
geous  pageantry  vanished  from  view  for  the 
time,  the  actors  separating  to  their  homes  in 
widely  different  parts  of  the  country. 

Girton  invited  Lew  to  spend  the  winter 
with  him  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  but 
he  declined,  for  the  reason  that  it  seemed 
wrong  to  accept  the  hospitality  of  his  friend 
when  he  had  laid  his  plans  and  formed 
his  resolution  to  do  a  thing  which  the 
man  would  doubtless  accept  in  the  light 
of  a  personal  injury. 


348  LIMBER   LEW. 

So  the  boy  declined,  as  we  have  said, 
and  did  the  most  sensible  thing  in  the  world. 
Acting  upon  the  advice  of  Captain  Rey 
nolds,  he  went  to  St.  Louis,  and  entered 
one  of  the  best  schools  of  the  city,  studying 
with  might  and  main,  and  doing  the  ut 
most  to  improve  as  much  mentally  as 
he  had  done  physically. 

Another  powerful  cause  operated  to 
lead  him  to  locate  in  the  Mound  City. 
It  was  there  the  "matron/*  as  she  was 
called,  lived,  and  she  took  Adualina  home 
with  her,  to  nurse  her  through  the  winter. 

"It  won't  take  her  till  spring  to  get 
well/'  thought  Lew,  "and  about  Christmas 
I  think  we  can  manage  things  so  as  to  have 
a  little  excursion  to  Baldwinstown. " 

Through  fear  of  his  motives  being  sus 
pected  he  only  called  at  the  door,  at  long 
intervals,  to  inquire  concerning  her.  The 
reply  was  always  the  same — she  was  doing 
well;  but  never  was  he  invited  within. 
Once,  when  he  asked  to  see  her  a  few  min 
utes,  he  was  met  with  the  rebuff  that  it 
was  not  considered  best.  The  fact  was, 


THE    HOUR   AT    HAND.  o49 

the  matron  had  regarded  him  with  suspicion 
ever  since  that  time  the  two  walked  away 
for  the  night,  and  she  quietly  blocked  up 
the  way  to  any  repetition  of  what  she 
regarded  as  an  escapade. 

After  receiving  this  reply,  Lew  feared 
he  had  shown  too  great  an  interest,  and 
he  remained  away  for  nearly  a  month, 
contenting  himself  with  walking  by  the 
house  several  times  a  day,  and  fancying 
he  saw  her  at  the  window. 

As  the  winter  progressed,  and  he  recalled 
that  it  was  several  weeks  since  he  had 
appeared  at  the  door,  it  struck  him  that 
Adualina  had  reason  to  believe  he  had  lost 
all  regard  for  her.  So  he  hastened  to  re 
pair  the  error. 

As  usual,  he  was  confronted  by  the 
portly  matron  herself. 

"Well,  you're  here  again,  I  see,"  she 
said. 

"Yes;  you  must  excuse  me  for  staying 
away  so  long,  but  I  have  been  very  busy 
with  my  studies.  How  is  Adualina  to- 
day?" 


350  LIMBER   LEW. 

"I  have  no  doubt  she  is  well,  but  I 
haven't  seen  her  for  ten  days  past." 

"How  is  that?"  asked  the  mystified  lad. 

"Her  father  came  here  nearly  two  weeks 
ago  and  took  her  home." 

Lew  was  dumfounded. 

"They  are  going  to  join  us  here  next 
spring,  I  suppose?" 

"Such  is  their  intention." 

"Where   does   Johnson   live?" 

"I  have  really  forgotten  the  name  of 
the  place,"  replied  the  matron,  as  she  bade 
him  good-day  and  closed  the  door. 

This  was  astounding  information  to  Lew 
who  had  no  thought  of  such  a  trick,  and 
he  reproved  himself  because  he  had  not 
kept  a  close  watch  on  the  house,  so  as  to 
detect  any  such  scheme. 

"Adualina  must  have  concluded  that  I 
didn't  care  about  her,"  he  murmured,  as 
he  walked  away.  "It  may  be  she  hasn't 
gone  at  all,  and  the  matron  is  only  trying 
to  mislead  me." 

Actuated  by  this  suspicion,  Lew  took 
several  days  to  assure  himself  of  the  truth. 


THE    HOUR   AT    HAND.  351 

He  found  out  at  last,  from  a  servant 
whom  he  could  trust,  that  the  senorita  was 
really  gone,  although  he  had  no  more  idea 
of  the  direction  taken  than  the  man  in  the 
moon. 

It  thus  became  a  serious  question  with 
the  lad,  whether  he  should  continue  the 
search  for  her,  or  whether  he  should  wait 
until  the  following  spring  and  summer, 
when  he  could  count  with  certainty  upon 
meeting  her  in  the  circus.  After  consider 
able  deliberation  over  the  matter  he  de 
cided  to  wait.  Captain  Reynolds  com 
mended  his  course  so  warmly  in  improving 
his  time  by  attending  school,  during  the 
winter  months,  that  he  was  afraid  of  dis 
pleasing  him  by  thus  flying  off  in  a  tangent. 

It  will  be  understood  how  it  was  that  Lew 
never  hinted  a  word  about  Adualina,  or 
the  project  he  had  in  mind  regarding  her. 
It  was  one  of  those  things  which  he  shrank 
from  telling  any  one.  Any  boy  of  his 
age  would  have  taken  the  same  course. 

The  winter  was  fully  improved  by  our 
hero.  Besides  his  studies,  he  acted  upon 


352  LIMBER  LEW. 

the  advice  of  Girton  to  practice  a  goodly 
portion  of  each  day  in  the  gymnasium; 
and  as  the  spring  approached,  he  devoted 
more  time  to  the  exercises. 

His  improvement  was  remarkable.  He 
was  growing  fast,  did  not  use  tobacco  in 
any  form,  and  never  touched  spirituous 
liquors.  His  natural  gifts,  as  we  showed 
long  ago,  were  exceptional,  and  as  he  used 
them  to  the  utmost,  it  was  impossible  that 
he  should  not  improve.  His  skill  was 
such  that  there  was  scarcely  a  day,  when 
he  entered  the  gymnasium,  that  numbers 
of  spectators  did  not  gather  to  admire 
his  performance.  During  all  this  time, 
he  never  let  any  one  know  he  was  attached 
to  a  circus. 

To  no  one  does  time  pass  so  rapidly  as 
to  him  who  keeps  himself  employed,  and 
the  " gentle  spring-time"  was  not  long 
in  coming  to  Lew  Fen  wick.  A  couple  of 
weeks  before  the  date  fixed  for  the  general 
rendezvous  in  St.  Louis,  Girton,  the  di 
rector  appeared  on  the  ground,  and  one  day 
walked  into  the  gymnasium  where  Lew 


THE   HOUR   AT  HAND.  353 

was  practicing,  without  the  latter  sus 
pecting  his  presence. 

His  friend  met  him  at  the  close  of  the 
" performance,"  and  expressed  his  de 
light  over  the  advancement  he  had  made, 
and  intimated  that  if  business  continued 
good  he  might  look  for  quite  an  increase 
in  pay. 

Without  dwelling  upon  this  portion  of 
our  narrative,  we  may  say  that  the  ren 
dezvous  as  agreed  upon  took  place,  and 
most  of  all  the  old  faces  reappeared — there 
being  a  few  changes,  since  some  had  made 
other  engagements,  two  were  dead,  and  it 
was  necessary  to  fill  their  places.  Among 
them  was  the  second  Rollo  boy,  who  had 
been  carried  away  by  small-pox,  in  New 
York,  so  that  Lew  found  that  he  and 
Little  Tom  were  left  to  manage  their 
part  of  the  programme  for  themselves. 

There  was  great  curiosity  on  the  part 
of  all  to  see  Senorita  Adualina,  who  was 
immensely  popular  with  them.  She  looked 
rosier  than  ever,  having  entirely  recovered 
from  her  injury,  and,  as  Lew  found  out, 


354  LIMBER   LEW. 

had  been  located  for  most  of  the  season 
at  a  village  only  a  few  miles  away. 

The  circus  and  menagerie  performed 
and  exhibited  in  the  Mound  City  for  a 
couple  of  weeks,  and  then,  as  it  was  still 
early  in  the  season,  they  started  on  a  tour 
further  south,  the  purpose  being  to  pen 
etrate  well  through  Texas  toward  Mexico, 
and  then  return,  Girton  having  given  up 
for  the  present  his  plan  of  a  Mexican  and 
South  American  tour.  The  field  over  which 
he  would  wish  to  travel  was  much  disturbed 
and  the  accounts  he  read  of  a  circus  com 
pany  being  cleaned  out  by  a  band  of  rev 
olutionists  in  Mexico,  convinced  him  that 
that  climate  was  not  as  healthful  as  he 
desired.  He  knew,  too,  that  he  was  likely 
to  encounter  all  the  lawless  characters 
he  could  wish  to  meet,  without  going  out 
side  of  the  limits  of  our  glorious  Union. 

The  first  thought  of  Lew  Fenwick,  upon 
rejoining  the  establishment,  was  to  open 
communication  with  Adualina,  and  to  ar 
range  their  flight. 

There  was  no  cause  for  delay,  except 


THE    HOUR   AT    HAND.  355 

so  far  as  they  were  forced  by  circumstances. 
They  were  nearly  a  year  older  than  when 
they  first  met,  both  were  in  the  best  pos 
sible  health,  and  Lew  had  abundant  means 
with  which  to  pay  all  expenses  they  were 
likely  to  encounter.  Besides  this,  he 
carried  a  Smith  &  Wesson's  for  any  sud 
den  "emergency"  that  might  overtake, 
them. 

The  lad  was  well  aware  that  after  taking 
their  departure  in  the  manner  contem 
plated,  it  would  never  do  to  get  in  the  way 
of  the  circus  again.  Henceforth  it  would  be 
advisable  to  give  it  a  wide  berth. 

His  plan  was  to  take  Adualina  to  the 
old  ladies  in  Baldwinstown,  and  then  to  go 
to  Birmingham  and  make  a  secret  visit 
to  Captain  Reynolds,  who  would  decide 
his  future  career. 

The  close  surveillance  over  the  girl 
prevented  all  communication  for  a  long 
time,  except  in  the  way  of  salutation  as 
they  encountered  in  the  presence  of  others; 
but  one  day,  when  in  Western  Missouri, 
the  lad  managed  to  meet  her,  at  the  after- 


356  LIMBER   LEW. 

noon  performance,  so  as  to  warrant  the 
risk  of  a  few  words. 

"Are  you  ready?"  he  asked,  in  a  hurried 
undertone,  looking  in  an  opposite  di 
rection  while  he  spoke,  so  as  to  divert 
the  suspicions  of  any  one  who  might  ob 
serve  them. 

"I  am  ready  any  time,"  she  answered. 

"Do  you  think  any  of  them  suspect?" 

"I  am  sure  they  don't." 

"Nothing  has  been  said?" 

"Not  a  word." 

"How  soon  after  an  evening's  perfor 
mance  can  you  start?" 

"Five  seconds." 

"That's  the  kind  of  talk!" 

"Can't  we  start  to-night?" 

"I  don't  like  this  place;  there  are  too 
many  railroads.  Wait  a  few  days,  till 
we  get  into  a  wilder  country." 

"Very  well." 

And  they  sauntered  in  opposite  di 
rections,  without  any  one  else  suspecting 
there  had  been  anything  in  their  brief 
interview. 


THE   HOUR   AT   HAND.  357 

And  yet,  despite  the  understanding  that 
existed,  fate  seemed  to  interpose  so  that 
the  opportunity  for  which  they  sighed 
never  came  to  them  for  weeks  and  weeks. 
The  circus  went  through  Arkansas,  Louis 
iana  and  Texas,  and  back  again  over  nearly 
the  same  route,  without  the  attempt  at 
flight  being  made. 

While  in  Texas,  the  company  became 
involved  in  a  fight  with  a  band  of  des 
peradoes,  who  came  down  with  the  avowed 
purpose  of  cleaning  out  the  whole  estab 
lishment.  Meeting  with  resistance,  they 
went  at  it  with  pistols  and  bowie-knives, 
and  the  scene  for  a  time  was  frightful; 
but  Girton  had  his  men  drilled  for  such 
business,  and  they  rallied  as  before  to  the 
war  cry  of  "Hey,  Rube!"  and  repulsed 
their  assailants  with  severe  hurts  on  both 
sides. 

Limber  Lew  attempted  to  take  advan 
tage  of  this  confusion,  and  to  get  away  with 
Adualina;  but  he  lost  sight  of  her  in  the 
excitement,  and  did  not  see  her  until  the 
next  morning. 


358  LIMBER   LEW. 

After  they  had  re-entered  Arkansas,  he 
gained  an  opportunity  for  a  few  stealthy 
words. 

"It  won't  do  to  wait  any  longer,"  he 
said. 

"Then   why    do    you    wait?" 

"I  have  a  fear  that  Johnson  suspects 
what  we  mean  to  do." 

"I  am  sure  he  doesn't." 
"To-morrow  night  we  perform  in  Tecum- 
seh.     You    remember    it?     It's    a    place 
with  only  two  or   three   thousand   inhab 
itants.  ' ' 

"I  know  all  about  it." 

"Well,  we'll  make  a  start  to-morrow 
night,  after  we  are  through.  We  have 
quite  a  distance  to  walk  over  the  commons 
to  reach  the  town — a  good  deal  as  it  was 
at  Baldwinstown.  '  I  will  follow  your  party, 
and  when  I'm  ready,  will  whistle.  You 
must  then  slip  away  from  the  matron, 
and  follow  the  whistle.  It  won't  do  to 
speak  or  call,  for  others  will  hear  us.  I 
will  signal  only  by  whistling,  and  if  neces 
sary,  you  can  answer  in  the  same  way." 


THE    HOUR   AT   HAND.  359 

"But  I  don't  know  how  to  whistle. 
I'll  practice  between  now  and  then,  and 
maybe  can  learn  to  do  it." 

"Sh!     Go   on;  we're  watched!" 

The  two  sauntered  past  each  other  in 
the  same  careless  manner;  but  Lew  was 
much  disturbed  by  the  sight  of  Johnson, 
the  driver,  who  stood  some  distance  away 
among  the  audience,  with  his  arms  folded 
his  hat  drawn  over  his  eyes,  but  evidently 
watching  him.  He  did  not  stir  from  his 
position  even  after  the  two  young 
friends  passed  beyond  hearing  of  each 
other. 

He's  the  one  I'm  afraid  of  more  than  all 
the  rest  together.  I  think  if  Girton  should 
catch  me,  I  could  explain  the  whole  thing, 
so  as  to  satisfy  him;  but  I  don't  want  to  run 
against  that  fellow.  I  wonder  whether 
he  suspects  the  truth?  I  guess  not; 
but  is  only  afraid  I  am  getting  a  little  too 
attentive  to  his  daughter,  and  thinks  it 
isn't  disagreeable  to  her." 

Although  somewhat  ill  at  ease,  Lew 
was  none  the  less  determined  that  the 


360  LIMBER   LEW. 

attempt  at  flight  should  be  postponed  no 
later  than  the  tune  fixed  upon. 

He  carefully  avoided  meeting  the  girl 
again  that  evening,  and  kept  out  of  her 
way  at  the  afternoon  performance  in 
Tecumseh  next  day.  During  the  leisure 
time  he  could  gain,  he  made  himself  ac 
quainted,  so  far  as  possible,  with  the  town 
and  the  surrounding  country. 

A  railway  ran  through  the  place,  the 
travel,  however,  being  so  light  that  there 
was  only  one  rickety  train  each  way 
a  day. 

He  concluded  it  would  never  do  to 
use  the  railway  until  he  could  reach 
some  distant  point,  and  until  he  had 
thrown  Johnson  and  all  others  off  the 
scent. 

As  a  matter  of  course,  there  were  sev 
eral  highways  leading  to  and  from  the 
town,  and  he  fixed  upon  the  one  that 
seemed  the  most  feasible.  It  led  nearly 
due  north,  into  a  rather  wild  and  broken 
country,  and  necessitated  a  long  journey 
by  foot  before  reaching  a  point  where 


THE    HOUR   AT   HAND.  361 

the    railway     could    be    taken     advan 
tage  of. 

The    preliminaries    were    all    arranged, 
and  the  hour  was  at  hand. 


362  LIMBER   LEW. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

CROSSING   THE   RUBICON. 

FOR  once,  everything  seemed  favorable. 
Lew  Fenwick  finished  his  part  of 
the  performance,  after  being  com 
pelled  to  answer  an  encore.  He  then 
leisurely  donned  his  citizen's  suit  and 
awaited  the  close  of  the  entertainment. 

Adualina  was  called  out  three  times, 
although  on  the  last  occasion  she  only 
bowed  her  acknowledgments.  Their  eyes 
never  once  encountered  during  the  evening, 
each  taking  pains  to  avoid  it,  through  fear 
of  giving  the  least  ground  for  suspicion. 

The  lad  kept  a  sharp  watch  for  Johnson, 
but  he  was  not  seen  after  the  opening, 
and  he  concluded  that  he  was  kept  out 
side  by  some  of  his  duties;  and  since  his 
hardest  work  began  immediately  after  the 
close,  it  seemed  there  was  little  to  be  feared 
from  him. 

A  few  minutes  after,  the  people  began 


CROSSING   THE    RUBICON.  363 

moving  out  from  beneath  the  canvas, 
and  the  actors  did  the  same  from  the  tent 
appropriated  to  them.  Everything  went 
on  in  a  manner  precisely  as  it  had  scores 
of  times  before. 

Lew  saw  Adualina  and  the  other  ladies 
start  off  " under  the  wing,"  as  it  may  be 
said,  of  the  matron;  and  as  soon  as  he  was 
sure  of  being  in  the  dark,  he  changed  his 
course,  so  as  to  take  himself  as  close  as 
was  prudent  to  the  females,  although  for 
that  matter,  both  parties,  aiming  for  the 
same  point,  were  quite  near  together. 

The  "  commons, "  or  vacant  lot  on  which 
the  circus  tents  were  erected,  covered  an 
area  of  several  acres,  and  it  was  necessary 
to  walk  a  hundred  yards  or  so,  before 
entering  the  town  itself. 

This  space  was  now  covered  with  the 
straggling  multitude,  on  their  way  home 
ward,  so  that  the  danger  of  the  boy  and 
girl  becoming  lost  from  each  other  was 
far  greater  than  if  there  was  no  one  besides 
themselves. 

They  had  gone  scarcely  a  hundred  feet, 


364  LIMBER   LEW. 

when  Lew  gave  the  signal  agreed  upon — 
a  low,  tremulous  whistle — repeating  it 
several  times.  There  was  no  moon,  but 
it  was  a  bright,  starlight  evening,  and  he 
saw  figures  moving  all  about  him,  while 
he  stood  still  and  peered  as  well  as  he 
could  into  the  gloom. 

Suddenly  some  one  touched  his  arm, 
and  he  turned  his  head. 

"It  is  I,"  whispered  a  familiar  voice, 
and  he  recognized  the  form,  dark  as  it 
was.  "Don't  wait  a  minute." 

"Take  my  arm  and  hang  fast  to  me." 

"You  may  be  sure  I  will,"  she  said,  as 
she  nervously  obeyed. 

"Suppose  he  does  overtake  us?"  asked 
Adualina,  with  a  shudder,  "and  he  catches 
me  again  —  oh,  I  do  believe  he  will  kill 
me!" 

"He  isn't  going  to  catch  you,"  was  the 
determined  reply  of  the  lad.  "If  he  lays 
hands  on  you,  I'll  warn  him;  and  if  he 
doesn't  let  go,  I'll  give  him  every  barrel 
of  my  revolver,  and  then  I  guess  he'll 
mind." 


CROSSING   THE    RUBICON.  365 

Yes ;  but  I  hope  it  will  never  come  to 
that." 

Now  that  they  were  together,  the  moving 
multitude  about  them  was  of  great  benefit. 
They  became  part  and  parcel  of  it,  losing 
their  identity  at  once,  so  that  a  person  in 
striving  to  single  out  the  two,  would  have 
been  forced  to  hold  the  light  up  to  the  face  of 
every  couple  resembling  them  in  appearance. 

The  lad  had  fixed  the  bearings  so  well 
in  his  mind  that  he  made  no  mistake, 
but  worked  his  way  steadily  through  the 
outskirts  of  the  town,  until  he  struck  the 
right  road. 

"Are  you  sure  you're  right?"  asked 
Adualina  as  soon  as  she  dared  talk. 

"No  doubt  of  it,"  he  answered.  "I 
managed  to  visit  here,  just  as  it  was  getting 
dark,  and  hid  a  small  valise." 

As  he  spoke,  he  left  her  side  for  a  moment, 
and  ran  to  the  fence. 

'Yes,  here  it  is!"  he  called  out,  as  he 
hurried  back.  "Did  you  get  any  chance 
to  bring  anything  with  you  besides  that 
which  you  have  on?" 


366  LIMBER  LEW. 

'Yes,  I  brought  a  bundle  which  the 
matron  supposed  was  my  other  suit,  so 
I'm  quite  well  provided  for.  Have  you 
any  idea  where  we  are  going  over  this 
road?" 

"I  made  what  inquiries  I  could  in  town 
to-day,  and  found  we  had  to  travel  about 
ten  miles  before  we  could  reach  a  small 
village.  We  can  make  that  in  two  or 
three  hours,  and  not  half  try." 

"Do  you  mean  to  walk  all  night?" 

"  Don't  you  think  it  best?  It  will  be 
safer  to  put  twenty  or  thirtj"  miles  be 
tween  us  and  Tecumseh,  and  then,  find 
some  place  where  we  can  wait  until  the 
excitement  is  over,  and  they  have  con 
cluded  we  are  hundreds  of  miles  away, 
instead  of  being  in  the  neighborhood. 
Have  you  thought  of  any  other  plan?" 

"I  haven't  thought  of  any  plan  at  all. 
My  whole  anxiety  was  to  get  away,  and 
to  reach  grandmother  Ruth  and  Tabitha's 
Just  how  we  are  to  do  that  never  once 
entered  my  mind." 

"You   are  not  too  tired,   are  you?" 


CROSSING   THE   RUBICON.  367 

"I  am  too  used  to  being  on  my  feet," 
she  answered,  with  a  laugh.  "Go  on; 
you  will  grow  weary  as  soon  as  I." 

She  had  dropped  his  arm,  so  that  both 
might  have  more  freedom  of  movement; 
and  they  walked,  side  by  side,  over  an 
ordinary  country  road,  with  fences,  broken 
woodland  and  forest,  occasionally  un 
dulating,  but  never  very  difficult  of  travel. 

Shortly  after  entering  on  the  highway, 
they  passed  several  stragglers.  These  were 
avant  couriers  of  quite  a  number  of  others 
who  were  coming  in  the  rear,  all  of  them 
having  walked  many  miles  to  see  the 
circus,  and  they  were  now  on  their  re 
turn. 

The  activity  and  superior  gait  of  the 
young  couple  placed  them  far  in  advance 
of  all  these,  so  that  they  had  the  highway 
as  much  to  themselves  as  if  they  were 
twenty  miles  "from  anywhere." 

Had  they  been  less  eager  to  get  for 
ward,  they  might  have  felt  more  timid 
about  venturing  over  a  strange  road,  in 
a  wild  country,  at  midnight.  As  it  was, 


368  LIMBER   LEW. 

Adualina  shuddered  more  than  once  when 
she  looked  up  and  saw  the  great  world 
of  darkness  by  which  they  were  enveloped, 
and  the  ever-expanding  gloom  into  which 
they  were  forcing  their  way. 

With  a  view  of  infusing  courage  into  her 
heart,  Lew  reminded  her  that  he  carried 
a  Smith  &  Wesson,  fully  charged.  There 
upon  she  became  alarmed,  lest  it  should 
go  off  in  his  pocket  and  kill  him. 

He  then  offered  to  hold  it  "outside" 
in  his  hand;  but  she  could  not  consent 
to  that,  for  it  would  surely  go  off — every 
chamber — and  perforate  them  both.  So 
they  concluded  to  do  nothing  about  it. 

A  half-mile  beyond  Tecumseh,  they  saw 
the  starlike  twinkle  of  a  light  from  some 
window  a  considerable  distance  from  the 
road,  and  as  they  came  opposite,  a  dog 
bayed  at  them.  Judging  from  his  voice,  he 
must  have  been  the  size  of  a  hippopotamus. 

The  canine  kept  up  his  baying  until 
they  were  beyond  sight  of  the  twinkling 
light,  and  they  ceased  to  think  or  talk 
about  him. 


CROSSING   THE   RUBICON.  369 

A  mile  or  so  further,  they  went  past 
another  house,  where  no  light  was  visible; 
consequently,  they  did  not  see  it  until 
they  were  so  close  that  they  were  startled, 
and  hurried  by,  speaking  only  in  whispers. 
Not  the  slightest  sound  or  movement, 
however,  gave  evidence  of  any  animal 
life  in  or  about  it. 

A  short  way  beyond,  they  entered  a  long 
stretch  of  woods,  where  Lew  himself  felt 
a  little  "shaky;"  but  he  took  good  care  not 
to  let  his  companion  know  it. 

He  got  her  to  tell  him  about  the  long 
time  she  was  kept  in  the  house  in  St.  Louis, 
under  the  charge  of  the  matron  and  dis 
abled  by  her  broken  arm;  while  he,  in 
return,  related  how  often  he  had  called 
and  striven  to  see  her — how  he  was  always 
rebuffed,  and  how  astonished  he  was  when 
told  she  had  been  removed  to  her  home, 
and  he  had  no  means  of  learning  where  it 
was. 

To  those  who  were  accustomed  to  the 
most  active  kind  of  exercise,  the  simple 
act  of  walking  produced  no  sensible  fatigue. 


370  LIMBER   LEW. 

Their  eagerness  to  get  beyond  the  reach  of 
Johnson,  and  to  attain  a  haven  of  safety 
for  the  girl,  caused  them  to  keep  up  a 
rapid  pace  for  a  long  time. 

When  they  were  some  six  or  eight  miles 
beyond  Tecumseh,  and  were  relieved  from 
any  fear  of  pursuit,  they  slackened  their 
gait,  and  had  any  one  encountered  them 
at  this  time,  he  probably  would  have 
taken  them  for  a  couple  of  young  friends 
on  a  walk  in  the  stargleam. 

"What  is  your  plan  for  getting  away?" 
asked  Adualina,  as  they  emerged  from  the 
long  stretch  of  woods  into  the  open  country 
again. 

"Well,  you  know  I've  had  plenty  of 
time  to  think  over  this  business,  and  you 
may  be  sure  I've  done  plenty  of  it.  It 
looks  to  me  as  if  our  greatest  danger  will 
be  within  the  next  three  or  four  days, 
and  the  first  thing  we  must  do,  therefore, 
is  to  find  a  hiding-place  for  that  time." 

"How  do  you  expect  to  do  that?" 

"We  are  on  the  main  road  now,  and  so 
long  as  we  keep  to  it,  we  must  manage 


CROSSING   THE   RUBICON.  371 

not  to  let  anybody  notice  us.  As  soon  as 
morning  comes  we  will  turn  off  into  some 
by-road,  and  follow  that  till  we  strike  a 
house  or  cabin,  where  we  will  apply  for 
hospitality,  and  stay  several  days  until  it 
looks  safe  to  venture  out." 

"To  where?" 

"The  railroad  station;  and  then  we'll 
make  direct  to  Baldwinstown  as  fast  as 
steam  can  carry  us.  When  that  place 
is  reached  I  shall  leave  you  and  go  home. " 

"And  never  come  near  me  again?"  she 
asked,  in  low  tones. 

"After  leaving  you  there,"  said  Lew, 
in  a  voice  of  deep  emotion,  "I  shall  write 
to  you  every  day,  provided  you  answer 
my  letters,  and  I  shall  come  and  see  you 
just  as  often  as  I  can — that  is,  if  you 
want  me  to  do  so." 

"If  I  want  you!"  she  repeated,  re 
provingly.  "I  would  die  if  you  should 
ever  forget  me." 

"If  you  don't  die  before  that  time,  you'll 
live  to  be  the  oldest  woman  ever  born. 
No,  Adualina,  I  would  have  done  all  and 


372  LIMBER   LEW. 

risked  all  to  get  you  away  from  Johnson 
for  your  own  sake ;  but  I  shouldn't  have  had 
half  the  heart  to  do  it  if  I  hadn't  felt  cer 
tain  that  you  thought  more  of  me  than  any 
one  else." 

"  So  I  do ;  I  think  more  of  you  than  I  ever 
can  of  any  one  else." 

"And  that's  the  way  I  feel  toward  you." 

There  was  no  weak  sentimentality  here. 
They  were  too  young  and  sensible — they 
were  too  much  in  earnest  in  the  great  work 
they  had  undertaken — to  become  insipid. 
Lew,  as  he  looked  forward  to  his  own 
future,  saw  it  intermingled  with  that  of 
the  beautiful,  unfortunate  girl  beside  him, 
and  for  that  future  he  was  content  to 
wait.  The  present  was  now  with  him, 
and  it  brought  its  battle,  which  must  be 
fought  to  the  end. 

"I  wonder  how  soon  they  will  find  we 
are  gone?"  said  Adualina,  as  they  con 
tinued  speculating  over  the  all-important 
step  they  had  taken. 

"They  must  have  found  it  out  long  ago, " 
replied  Lew,  with  a  laugh;  "and  hasn't  it 


CROSSING  THE   RUBICON.  373 

kicked  up  a  rumpus?  I  suppose  the  town 
is  turned  upside  down  just  now.  You  see 
they  have  all  gone  tramping  homeward, 
and  haven't  noticed  anything  amiss  until 
they  reached  the  hotel.  Then  the  matron 
has  begun  to  inquire  for  you,  and  then 
all  the  females  have  inquired,  and  then 
they  have  begun  to  ask  others  and  to  look 
around.  Then  she  has  gone  to  Girton, 
and  he  hasn't  thought  much  of  it.  And 
that  is  the  only  thing  that  troubles  me. 
He  has  been  such  a  good  friend  to  me  all 
along  that  I  hate  to  do  anything  that  looks 
mean;  but  I'll  explain  it  all  to  him  some 
day,  and  he  will  say  I  did  right." 

"The  matron  will  be  scared,  of  course, — 
she  always  is;  but  Girton  won't  think 
anything  until  he  finds  I  am  missing.  Then 
he'll  be  suspicious,  and  he'll  take  a  hand  in 
the  business,  and  he'll  begin  to  ask  questions 
and  to  look  around.  He  has  about  fairly 
gotten  into  it  by  this  time.  He  will  think 
there  is  a  chance  of  our  coming  in  before 
morning,  but  for  all  that  he  will  keep  at 
work.  It  will  take  an  hour  or  two  before 


374  LIMBER   LEW. 

Johnson  hears  of  it,  and  it  may  be  he  won't 
get  the  news  till  morning;  but  when  he  does 
learn  that  you  and  I  have  gone  off  together 
— well,  there!  won't  there  be  the  biggest 
kind  of  a  circus?" 

"Heigho!  here  we  are!" 

This  exclamation  was  caused  by  the  dis 
covery  that  they  had  reached  the  village 
of  which  Lew  had  made  mention.  It 
could  not  be  far  from  morning,  and  the 
two  were  anxious  to  get  through  it  and 
beyond,  without  attracting  the  notice  of 
any  one. 

Doubtless,  there  would  be  inquiry  made 
at  this  place  before  the  close  of  the  dawn 
ing  day,  and  if  the  testimony  should  be 
unanimous  that  no  parties  answering  their 
description  had  been  seen  by  any  one,  it 
would  do  much  toward  persuading  their 
pursuers  that  they  were  on  the  wrong 
track. 

There  was  but  the  single  street  and  a 
row  of  some  twenty-odd  houses  on  each 
side.  Near  the  centre  stood  the  tavern, 
with  the  old  tumble-down  porch  in  front, 


CROSSING   THE    RUBICON.  375 

and  the  creaking  sign,  with  the  phthisicky 
pump  and  twisted  water-trough  near. 
Everything  was  as  silent  as  the  tomb, 
but  they  saw  the  figure  of  a  man  stretched 
out  on  the  porch,  snoring  terrifically. 
He  was  doubtless  some  bar-room  lounger, 
that  had  been  left  there  by  the  landlord, 
and  who,  owing  to  the  mildness  of  the 
night,  experienced  no  discomfort  because 
of  the  free  ventilation  of  his  bed-chamber. 

Lew  and  Adualina  walked  by,  as  it  may 
be  said,  on  tiptoe,  not  even  whispering  to 
each  other.  In  three  different  houses  they 
saw  lights  burning;  but  in  every  case  they 
were  in  the  upper  stories,  so  that  the  two 
were  hopeful  of  getting  through  unobserved. 

And  they  did.  They  went  so  silently 
and  phantom-like  that  not  even  the  bark 
of  a  dog  proclaimed  their  passage. 

" That's  a  big  point  gained!"  exclaimed 
the  lad.  when  they  were  safely  beyond 
the  last  house.  "It  will  do  a  good  deal 
toward  stopping  anybody  coming  beyond 
the  village  after  us.  If  any  one  had  noticed 
us  and  should  tell  the  folks  about  it,  it 


376  LIMBER  LEW. 

would  bring  them  close  to  our  heels — a 
good  deal  closer  than  I  want  them  to  come. " 
"You  feel  sure  they  will  follow  us?" 
" There  can't  be  any  doubt  of  it.  I 
don't  think  I  left  any  trace  that  will  guide 
them  in  the  way  we  have  gone.  When 
ever  I  made  inquiries  about  this  place, 
I  did  it  so  that  neither  Johnson  nor  Girton 
will  hear  of  it,  while  I  took  pains  to  ask 
about  one  or  two  roads  leading  in  other 
directions,  in  such  a  way  that  my  inquiries 
will  be  sure  to  reach  their  ears. 

"Maybe  they  will  think  you  did  it  on 
purpose  to  mislead  them?"  said  his  com 
panion. 

"I  don't  believe  they  consider  me  smart 
enough  for  that;  but  even  if  they  do,  it 
isn't  going  to  help  them  to  find  out  the  real 
route  we  have  taken." 

"Who  do  you  believe  will  hunt  for  us?" 
"If  I  were  alone,  there  would  be  no  hunt 
at  all,  because  I  can  go  of  course  where  I 
choose;  but,  you  know,  you're  a  big  card 
with  the  show,  and  are  advertised  weeks 
ahead,  so  that  Girton  won't  let  you  go,  if 


CROSSING   THE   RUBICON.  377 

there's  any  way  to  hinder  it.  He  can't 
afford  to  leave  the  circus,  or  to  let  it  wait, 
for  you  know,  the  programme  is  made 
out  ahead;  but  he  will  give  Johnson  two 
or  three  of  his  best  men,  furnish  them  with 
money,  and  tell  them  to  keep  at  it  till  they 
bring  you  back.  Johnson  don't  need  any 
such  orders.  He  has  made  his  living  for 
years  out  of  you,  and  he  don't  mean  to  let 
you  go.  The  trouble  is  that,  under  heaven, 
we  must  depend  entirely  on  our  own  ex 
ertions.  The  law  is  on  his  side  and  against 
us.  If  he  nabs  us  on  a  train  of  cars,  in  the 
street,  or  at  a  hotel,  where  he  can  call  the 
police,  it  will  be  all  up  with  us.  What 
makes  you  keep  looking  behind,  Adualina?  " 

"  Do  you  know, "  she  whispered,  shrinking 
close  to  him,  "somebody  is  following  us?" 

Lew  turned  his  head,  and  sure  enough  he 
saw  the  figure  of  a  man  in  the  middle  of  the 
road,  less  than  a  hundred  feet  in  the  rear. 

"He  has  been  following  us  ever  since  we 
left  the  village,"  added  the  girl. 

"Well,  then,  let  us  wait  and  see  what  he 
wants." 


378  LIMBER   LEW. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE     ARKANSAS     TRAVELERS. 

TO  tell  the  truth,  Limber  Lew  was  glad 
to  see  the  stranger  approaching  them 
over  the  lonely  road  on  this  dark 
night;  for  with  the  loaded  revolver  in  his 
possession,  he  felt  secure  against  any  harm, 
and  he  thought  it  would  be  a  good  occa 
sion  to  show  Adualina  how  he  would  act 
in  the  presence  of  danger. 

As  the  man  walked  slowly  toward  them, 
he  looked  as  if  he  was  a  tramp — a  member 
of  that  vast  army  of  nuisances  that  are 
constantly  plodding  over  our  country  from 
one  end  to  the  other,  as  if  the  Union  were 
a  tread-mill  which  was  never  to  be  allowed 
to  rest.  He  was  one  of  those  lusty,  strap 
ping  fellows,  that  are  seen  crawling  out  of 
hay-mows  in  the  early  morning,  filthy 
and  ragged;  who  camp  in  the  woods  and 
live  upon  farmers'  corn  and  chickens; 
who  prefer  to  be  kicked,  abused  and 


THE  ARKANSAS  TRAVELERS.     379 

starved,  rather  than  work;  who  beg  and 
steal  by  turns,  and  who,  when  the  chances 
seem  favorable,  are  ready  to  proceed  to 
greater  violence  —  who  swarm  into  the 
cities  during  the  winter  season,  and  seem 
to  fraternize  like  Free  Masons,  and  who 
appear  and  reappear  as  regularly  as  the 
months  come  and  go,  plodding  and  tramp 
ing  on  their  eternal  beat. 

Lew  drew  a  little  to  one  side  of  the  road, 
his  companion  standing  somewhat  in  the 
rear,  so  as  to  give  the  fellow  all  the  room 
he  could  possibly  ask.  He  continued  at 
the  same  deliberate  pace,  both  his  hands 
thrust  in  his  trowsers  pockets,  and  no  doubt, 
as  he  surveyed  the  stature  of  the  two,  con 
cluded  that  he  had  one  of  the  "  softest 
snaps"  imaginable  on  hand. 

He  did  not  speak  until  he  came  directly 
opposite,  when  he  paused,  wheeled  about, 
and  in  a  husky  voice  exclaimed: 

"Well?" 

"Well,  what  is  it?"  asked  the  lad  in 
turn,  holding  his  revolver  at  his  side  ready 
for  business. 


380  LIMBER   LEW. 

"Have  you   ever   seen   me   before?" 

"Don't  think   I   have." 

"Well,  take  a  good  look." 

"I've  seen  all  I  want,  and  you  had 
better  move  on." 

"Oho!  young  man,  you  needn't  put  on 
airs  with  me.  I've  been  a-watching  you 
two:  I've  been  follerin'  you — " 

"And  you  have  caught  up,  and  what 
are  you  a-going  to  do  about  it?" 

"I  know  you  are  a  couple  of  thieves, 
that's  just  broke  out  of  jail,  and  I'm  the 
chief  of  perlice  that's  been  sent  to  take 
you  back." 

"You're  a  fine  looking  chief  of  police," 
said  Limber  Lew.  "You  must  get  a  large 
salary  to  support  such  a  gorgeous  uniform. 
What  is  that  we  have  stolen  and  that  you 
want  to  take  back?" 

"I'm  going  to  search  you  and  find  out. 
I  can  then  tell  better." 

"Why  don't  you  stop  talking  and  do 
something?" 

Goaded  thus,  the  tramp  muttered  some 
thing  and  withdrawing  his  hands  from 


THE  ARKANSAS  TRAVELERS.     381 

his  pockets,  strode  toward  the  defiant 
lad.  Adualina  gave  a  faint  scream  and 
shrank  back,  but  Lew  never  stirred.  Be 
fore  his  assailant  could  approach  nigh 
enough  to  strike,  he  raised  his  arm  to  the 
horizontal  position,  and  pointed  his  re 
volver  straight  at  his  ugly  face. 

"If  you  come  any  nigher,  old  chap,  you 
will  run  against  that." 

There  was  enough  light  to  see  the  gleam 
of  the  pistol,  and  the  vagrant  took  in  the 
situation  at  a  glance.  He  halted  abruptly, 
and  commanded : 

"Put  down  that  bull-dog." 

"I  will,  after  it  bites." 

With  a  malediction,  the  villain  turned 
and  tramped  on  up  the  road  in  the  direction 
they  were  pursuing.  They  stood  still  with 
out  speaking,  and  waited  until  he  was  a 
goodly  distance  away,  when  the  boy  re 
placed  the  weapon  in  his  pocket,  and 
the  two  walked  on  slowly  after  him. 

"It  was  rather  handy  to  have  that  little 
bull-dog,  as  he  calls  it,  wasn't  it?"  asked 
Lew,  with  an  assumption  of  carelessness. 


382  LIMBER   LEW. 

"Oh,  dear!  I  was  so  frightened/'  gasped 
the  girl.  "My  heart  beats  like  every 
thing.  What  did  the  man  mean?" 

"He  meant  to  rob  us,   that  was  all." 

"I  should  think  that  was  enough.  He 
talked  as  if  he  wanted  to  hurt  you." 

"That  was  because  I  was  saucy  to  him. 
If  I  had  submitted  without  a  word,  I  don't 
know  that  he  would  have  done  more  than 
take  everything  he  might  want.  Wouldn't 
we  have  been  in  a  pretty  situation  without 
a  cent  of  money,  to  travel  hundreds  of 
miles?" 

"  What  do  you  suppose  he  means  to  do?" 

"Nothing;  he  won't  disturb  us  any  more. 
He  is  a  tramp,  and  will  keep  on  going  ahead ; 
so  he  isn't  likely  to  tell  Johnson  any  news. " 

Day  was  dawning,  and  it  was  growing 
light  so  rapidly  that  the  two  began  to 
think  it  was  time  they  found  some  resting- 
place.  As  they  had  both  done  their  reg 
ular  work  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  night, 
and  had  been  on  their  feet  ever  since, 
they  began  to  feel  the  inevitable  conse 
quences.  They  were  faint  and  tired,  and 


THE  ARKANSAS  TRAVELERS.     383 

Lew  found  himself  looking  in  advance  with 
the  hope  of  seeing  some  suitable  stopping- 
house. 

They  were  journeying  through  a  sort  of 
undergrowth.  A  large  tract  of  woods  had 
been  cut  off  years  before,  and  was  now 
grown  up  thickly  on  both  sides  of  the  road, 
which  wound  in  and  out  so  that  their  view, 
front  and  rear,  was  never  extensive. 

As  yet  they  had  met  not  a  single  wagon, 
and  with  the  exception  of  the  tramp,  had 
seen  no  person  after  passing  the  village. 
Short  as  was  the  distance  traveled,  they 
were  evidently  in  a  poverty-stricken  part 
of  the  country. 

"Hello !  here  is  a  by-road,  that  must  lead 
to  somewhere,"  exclaimed  the  lad,  when 
they  came  up  to  a  wagon-path  that  turned 
to  the  left,  and  being  without  a  fence  on 
either  side,  was  apparently  little  used. 

"Do  you  think  it  best  to  take  it?"  asked 
Adualina,  with  some  misgiving. 

"Just  the  thing!  Be  careful  not  to  walk 
in  the  middle  of  the  road,  so  as  to  show 
which  way  we  have  gone.  Nobody  will 


384  LIMBER   LEW. 

think  of  following  us  here,  and  I  guess  we 
won't  have  to  go  far  before  we  strike  some 
thing." 

"Well,  you're  the  director  of  this  mena 
gerie,'  '  replied  the  girl,  with  an  attempt  at 
pleasantry.  "Go  on,  and  I  will  follow  you.' ' 
The  turn  was  made,  and  it  was  necessary 
to  proceed  only  a  short  distance  when  the 
sinuous  character  of  the  route  shut  them 
entirely  from  all  view  of  the  main  road 
just  left.  The  indications  were  that  they 
were  following  a  path  over  which  no  wagon 
had  passed  for  some  time,  but  which  had 
been  tramped  by  human  feet  at  no  remote 
date. 

They  were  not  disappointed  in  their 
wishes.  At  the  distance  of  about  a  furlong, 
they  came  upon  a  small  clearing,  in  the 
middle  of  which  stood  a  log  cabin,  but  with 
no  signs  of  life  about  it- 
It  was  small  and  dilapidated,  made  of 
rough  slabs,  with  a  stone  chimmey,  from 
which  issued  a  thin,  bluish  column  of  smoke, 
proving  that  it  was  not  without  an  occu 
pant.  The  clearing  of  an  acre  or  more  was 


THE  ARKANSAS  TRAVELERS.     385 

bare  of  vegetation.  Nor  was  there  barn 
or  shed  to  show  that  the  proprietor  was  the 
owner  of  a  horse,  cow,  pig,  or  any  domestic 
creature. 

A  more  forlorn  and  desolate  place  it  is 
scarcely  possible  to  imagine,  and  had  not 
Limber  Lew  been  armed,  he  would  have 
hurried  past  with  as  much  trepidation  as  if 
certain  it  contained  Johnson  himself;  but 
he  knew  that  Adualina  was  very  much 
fatigued,  and  so,  without  any  perceptible 
hesitation,  he  walked  to  the  door  and  gave 
a  smart  rap. 

"Don't  you  see  the  latch-string  is  out?" 
shouted  some  one  within. 

And  looking  up  at  the  door,  the  lad  no 
ticed  a  small  piece  of  a  leather  thong  dangling 
from  a  slight  orifice.  Giving  this  a  gentle 
jerk,  the  door  swung  inward  of  its  own  ac 
cord,  and  he  entered,  followed  by  his  com 
panion. 

A  short,  stumpy  man,  with  immense 
bushy  whiskers,  sat  near  the  small  stove, 
sewing  a  button  on  a  vest,  while  a  tall, 
masculine  woman  was  occupied  in  frying 


386  LIMBER   LEW. 

some  kind  of  meat.  They  both  turned  their 
heads  as  the  couple  entered,  and  were  mani 
festly  astonished  at  sight  of  their  visitors. 

"  Good-morning  I"  said  the  boy.  "We 
have  walked  a  long  distance,  and  are  tired 
arid  hungry.  Will  you  let  us  stay  with  you 
awhile?' ' 

"It's  poor  hospitality  you  will  get  here/ ' 
replied  the  woman;  "but,  such  as  it  is,  you 
are  welcome  to." 

"Yes,  you  are  welcome/'  assented  the 
man. 

"I  am  glad  to  hear  you  say  so;  but  I  will 
pay  you  for  all  you  do  for  us." 

"Heavens  on  'arth!"  exclaimed  the  hor 
rified  host;  "don't  talk  of  pay.  We  don't 
keep  tavern,  and  if  you  go  on  in  that  style, 
you  wont  be  welcome." 

The  two  took  their  seats  on  a  rough-look 
ing  bench  at  the  side  of  the  room,  sleepy  and 
tired,  but  not  enough  so  to  deprive  them  of 
enjoying  the  smell  of  the  cooking  food. 

Lew  Fenwick  was  busy  in  thought,  and 
was  sure  they  were  fortunate  in  coming 
upon  this  household.  The  man  and  wife 


THE   ARKANSAS   TRAVELERS.  387 

(for  there  were  no  children  visible)  were 
undoubtedly  as  poor  as  they  could  be. 
The  husband  seemed  one  of  those  shiftless 
fellows,  who  manage  to  eke  out  a  living  by 
hunting  game  and  bees,  fishing,  and  oc 
casionally  doing  odd  chores  for  some  of  his 
neighbors;  but  there  appeared  nothing 
wrong  about  him,  and  the  boy  decided  to 
trust  him. 

"We  belonged  to  the  circus  that  showed 
at  Tecumseh  last  night,  and  they  treated 
this  girl  here  so  bad  that  we  ran  away,  after 
the  performance ;  and  we  want  to  stay  sev 
eral  days  with  you,  and  I'll  make  it  all 
right  with  you  when  I  go  away." 

"Was  both  of  you  actors?"  asked  the 
man,  ceasing  his  sewing,  and  gaping  in 
open-mouthed  wonder,  while  his  wife  turned 
around  from  the  stove,  and  looked  as  if 
callers  were  as  great  curiosities  as  a  couple 
of  jungle  tigers. 

"Yes;   we    were   both    actors." 

"Wai,  by  gracious!"  fairly  gasped  the 
native,  "I  never!  Why,  you  can  stay 
here  a  year,  ten  years,  a  hundred  years,  if 


388  LIMBER   LEW. 

you  want  to!  Peggy,  hurry  up  with  the 
breakfast,  and  give  'em  the  best  you've 
got,' '  he  added,  as  he  laid  aside  his  garment, 
and  stared  admiringly  at  his  visitors. 
"And  so  you  belonged  to  the  circus,  did 
you?  The  last  circus  I  seed  was  in  Little 
Rock,  a  right  smart  while  ago,  airlier  in  the 
season.  I  happened  to  be  up  there  for 
'Squire  Hazel,  and  I  went  in.  It  was 
glorious !  I  seen  the  most  beauteousf ul  gal 
I  ever  set  my  eyes  on — meaning  no  dis 
respect  to  you,  miss — walk  a  wire  about  as 
thick  as  a  needle;  and  she  rid  them  horses 
just  as  if  she  was  growed  fast  to  'em ! 
She  was  the  sweetest,  purtiest — " 

"Don't  go  too  hard,' ;  interrupted  Lew, 
with  a  laugh,  "for  this  girl  here  is  the  one 
you  saw  at  that  time." 

' '  Heavens   on    '  arth !' ' 

The  poor  fellow  turned  pale,  and  looked 
as  if  about  to  faint.  His  wife  stood, 
transfixed  and  speechless. 

"Do  you  remember  that  boy  who  tossed 
a  little  fellow  upon  his  feet  and— 

"Remember  him?     I  should  think  I  did! 


THE   ARKANSAS   TRAVELERS.  389 

I've  dreamed  about  him  over  forty  times 
since.  Didn't  I  hurry  home  and  try  to 
perform  with  Peggy  in  the  same  style?  and 
didn't  I  come  near  breaking  her  neck?  and 
didn't  she  pay  me  by  cracking  my  head  with 
the  rolling-pin?  I  s'pose,  if  you  belonged 
to  the  circus,  you  must  have  known  that 
chap?" 

"I  couldn't  help  knowing  him,  for  I  am 
the  boy." 

"  Heavens  on  'arth !  the  next  thing  will  be 
the  blowing  of  Gabr'el's  horn!" 

''After  breakfast,  if  you  will  allow  each  of 
us  to  sleep  awhile,  I'll  tell  you  all  you  want 
to  know  about  the  circus." 

This  gentle  hint  recalled  the  host  and 
hostess  to  their  duty,  and  shortly  after,  the 
four  gathered  around  the  pine  table,  which 
was  innocent  of  cloth,  but  which  contained 
a  substantial  meal  of  pone,  venison  and 
steaming  coffee,  with  its  complement  of 
milk  and  sugar — the  wonder  of  Lew  being 
where,  in  such  a  poverty-stricken  place  as 
this,  all  these  luxuries  were  obtained. 

The  wife  of  Jim  Boker   (as  the  man's 


390  LIMBER   LEW, 

name  proved  to  be)  had  a  natural  talent  in 
the  way  of  cooking,  and  the  meal  was  more 
enjoyed  by  our  young  friends  than  any  they 
had  ever  eaten. 

Through  the  seeming  rudeness  and  lack  of 
culture  of  the  man  and  wife  ran  a  vein  of 
sympathy  that  made  their  visitors  thankful 
again  and  again  that  their  footsteps  had 
been  turned  thither. 

The  meal  finished,  a  conversation  follow 
ed,  when  Adualina  was  conducted  to  the 
upper  chamber  by  Mrs.  Boker,  who  told  her 
she  might  sleep  a  week,  if  she  chose — that 
she  was  to  reappear  when  she  "got  good 
and  ready,  and  not  afore." 

There  was  but  the  single  room  aloft,  with 
several  coarse  blankets,  but  eider  down 
itself  could  not  have  been  more  grateful  and 
delicious  to  the  wearied  Adualina,  as  she 
threw  herself  upon  them  and  almost  im 
mediately  sank  into  a  refreshing  slumber. 

The  lower  portion  of  the  cabin  was  parti 
tioned  in  a  characteristic  fashion.  Across 
one  corner  was  drawn  a  curtain,  and  be 
hind  this  was  arranged  the  couch  of  Mr. 


THE  ARKANSAS  TRAVELERS.     391 

BoKer's  own  ingenuity,  and  as  the 
weather  was  mild,  the  bedding  was 
scarce. 

Before  lying  down,  Lew  explained  the 
situation  to  Jim,  and  impressed  him  with 
the  necessity  of  letting  no  one  know  that 
he  had  any  visitors  with  him.  He  had 
some  fear  of  pursuit,  and  hi  case  parties 
came  to  the  door,  making  inquiries,  Jim 
would  know  they  were  enemies,  and 
would  not  allow  them  to  enter  until 
the  guests  were  given  a  chance  to  take 
to  the  woods. 

"I'd  like  to  see  yer  take  to  the  woods 
when  yer  under  my  care!"  was  the  reply  of 
their  host.  "Do  you  s'pose  anybody  dare 
come  in  yer,  when  the  latch-string  is  pulled 
in,  or  I  tell  'em  to  stay  out?  Let  'em  try, 
if  they  wan'o  to  find  out.  You  see  that  ar' 
rifle  standing  thar  in  the  corner?"  he  asked, 
pointing  at  a  long,  formidable  weapon. 
"  Wai,  I  reckon  Jim  Boker  hain't  hunted  the 
woods  for  twenty-five  years  without  know 
ing  how  to  handle  it.  All  I've  got  to  say 
is — go  to  sleep,  dream  sweetly,  don't  wake 


392  LIMBER    LEW. 

up  till  next  week,  and  I'll  be  the  angel 
guarding  your  bed.  Do  yer  see?" 

Glad  enough  was  the  lad  to  accept  this 
invitation,  which  was  as  grateful  to  him  as 
to  his  fair  companion  in  the  spare  room  over 
head.  For  over  twelve  hours  they  had  been 
on  their  feet,  and  there  would  have  been 
perfect  contentment  could  they  have  felt 
secure  against  disturbance  from  those  who 
there  was  no  doubt  were  searching  for  them 
that  very  minute. 

"But  Boker  is  not  a  coward,"  Lew  re 
flected,  as  sleep  became  stealing  over  him, 
"and  he  will  keep  them  out.  If  he  wants 
help,  all  he  has  to  do  is  to  wake  me,  and 
I'll  use  the  revolver  on  them." 

The  next  minute  he  was  unconscious. 


THE   ADVERTISEMENT.  393 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE     ADVERTISEMENT. 

WHEN  Limber  Lew  awoke,  he  was  be 
wildered,  and  it  was  several  min 
utes  before  he  comprehended  where 
he  was.     He  found  himself  in  a  perspira 
tion  from  the  warmth  of  the  room. 

"It  wasn't  as  dark  as  this  when  I  lay 
down,"  thought  he,  when  he  recalled  the 
situation.  "It  can't  be  that  I've  slept  all 
day,  and  it's  night  again." 

He  softly  drew  the  curtain  aside  and 
peered  out.  He  was  convinced  the  next 
minute  of  the  truth  of  his  suspicion. 

The  day,  or  at  least  the  greater  portion 
of  it  had  passed,  while  he  lay  unconscious 
on  his  couch.  He  had  indulged  in  a  spell  of 
slumber  such  as  he  had  never  attempted 
before  during  the  day-time. 

"I  think  I  can  go  a  week  without  any 
more  sleep,"  he  concluded.  "I  wonder 
where  all  the  folks  are?" 


394  LIMBER   LEW. 

The  room  was  dark,  excepting  so  far  as  it 
was  lit  up  by  a  sputtering  tallow  candle, 
thrust  into  a  bottle,  standing  on  a  shelf. 
There  was  a  "thief  in  the  wick,  and  the 
tallow  had  run  down  in  gutters,  and  cooled 
all  over  the  bottle  in  fantastic  shapes. 

He  was  about  to  extend  his  explorations, 
when  he  was  checked  by  the  sound  of 
voices,  and  looking  keenly  into  the  partly- 
illuminated  gloom,  he  saw  that  which  had 
escaped  his  eyes  heretofore. 

Jim  Boker  and  his  wife  were  sitting  on  the 
bench,  talking. 

The  lad  was  on  the  point  of  getting  up  and 
insisting  that  they  should  take  their  rightful 
couch,  from  which  he  supposed  he  was 
keeping  them,  when  he  was  startled  by  the 
words  of  Jim,  which  in  the  confined  space 
he  could  not  miss  hearing. 

"He's  a  regular  high-toned  chap,  ain't 
he?  Seems  to  have  plenty  of  money  from 
the  way  he  talks.  I  guess,  Peggy,  I'd 
better  wait." 

"No;  I  want  you  to  do  it  now.  It  wont 
take  but  a  minute,  and  it's  all  over." 


THE    ADVERTISEMENT.  395 

"You' re  always  wanting  me  to  do  things 
I  don't  want  to,"  he  said,  petulantly. 
"Why  don't  you  do  it  yourself?" 

"It  ain't  my  place — that's  why.  I'm  a 
woman.  I  tell  you  Jim,  you've  got  to  do 
it!" 

"  S'pose  he  wakes  up  and  says  something?" 

"But  he  won't." 

"I  should  like  to  know  how  you  know  so 
blamed  much." 

"Anybody  with  common  sense  would 
understand  that..  But,  then,  what's  the 
use  of  talking,  when  you  never  didn't  have 
no  sense?' ' 

"Wai,  I  s'posel  must." 

As  he  said  this  he  rose  to  his  feet,  with  the 
air  and  manner  of  a  man  who  had  made  up 
his  mind  to  do  a  desperate  deed.  At  the 
same  moment,  by  the  yellow,  flickering 
light  of  the  candle,  a  huge  knife  was  seen  to 
gleam  in  his  right  hand! 

Who  can  imagine  the  feelings  of  Lew 
Fenwick  during  these  awful  moments? 
Before  a  dozen  words  had  passed  between 
the  modern  Macbeth  and  his  lady,  he  un- 


396  LIMBER   LEW. 

derstood  his  dreadful  peril.  They  were 
plotting  to  murder  him  for  the  small 
amount  of  money  he  had ;  they  had  doubt 
less  already  made  away  with  Adualina,  or, 
if  not  they  could  do  so  at  their  convenience. 
He  had  awakened  at  the  moment  the  foul 
plot  was  coming  to  a  head,  but  was  it  soon 
enough  to  save  himself? 

He  had  merely  lain  down  on  the  bed, 
without  removing  any  of  his  clothes,  and  he 
now  reached  his  hand  to  the  rear  pocket  of 
his  trowsers,  where  he  carried  his  revolver. 
It  was  gone! 

"They  have  disarmed  me  while  I  was 
asleep,  and  now  mean  to  murder  me  F '  was 
the  paralyzing  thought  that  seethed  through 
his  brain. 

As  the  man  rose,  with  the  terrible  knife 
in  his  hand,  the  lad  was  literally  unable  to 
stir  or  speak.  He  was  held  powerless,  as 
if  crushed  under  the  weight  of  some  freezing 
nightmare. 

Boker  advanced;  he  placed  his  foot  upon 
the  couch,  and  Lew  could  only  stare  in  mute 
helpless  terror,  with  the  beads  of  cold 


THE   ADVERTISEMENT.  397 

perspiration   standing   out    all    over    his 
body. 

Suddenly  that  powerful  right  arm  was 
raised,  with  the  glistening  blade  in  it,  and 
reaching  upward,  he — 

Cut  off  a  piece  of  vension  that  was  sus 
pended  on  a  peg  overhead,  and  then  moved 
lightly  back  to  where  his  wife  was  awaiting 
him. 

"There!"  she  exclaimed,  triumphantly; 
"didn't  I  tell  you  he  wouldn't  wake? 
You  always  was  a  shiftless,  good-for-noth 
ing  ne'er-do-well,  that  will  never  own  up 
that  I  know  more  than  you  do!" 

"I  wanted  it  for  supper  as  bad  as  you; 
but  then  we  could  wait  awhile,  and  not  run 
the  risk  of  waking  the  younker." 

" Massy  sakes  alive!  he's  been  snoring 
all  day,  and  I  should  think  it  was  time  he 
woke  to  get  his  supper.  The  gal  has  been 
up  for  hours,  singin'  round  the  house  like  a 
nightingale,  and  askin'  when  he  was  goin'  to 
wake.  Ain't  she  a  little  beauty?  When 
you  was  off  in  the  woods,  hunting  for  bee 
trees,  and  she  was  sartin  sure  nobody  could 


398  LIMBEE   LEW, 

see  her  but  me,  she  went  through  some  of 
her  circus  tricks,  and  I  tell  you  they  was 
mirackulus.  They  beat  anything  I  ever 
heard  tell  on." 

"Wai,  I'll  make  things  even  by  getting 
the  younker  to  perform  for  me.  Mebbe  he 
can  toss  you  up  on  his  feet  without  breakin' 
your  neck  very  bad —  Hello !  here  he  comes 
now !' ' 

So  he  did — making  his  appearance  with 
a  laugh  and  apology  for  sleeping  so  long. 
He  told  them  nothing  about  the  awful  spell 
of  terror  that  had  held  him  enchained  for  a 
few  minutes.  He  felt  ashamed  to  think  of 
it,  and  in  getting  out  of  bed  he  found  his  re 
volver  where  it  had  worked  out  of  his  pocket. 

He  had  learned  too,  that  Peggy  was  the 
"man"  of  the  household,  and  that  she  was 
by  no  means  averse  to  receiving  a  moderate 
recompense  for  her  entertainment,  and  he 
was  sure  not  to  forget  when  the  time  came 
to  leave.  It  was  her  wish  to  prepare  supper 
so  as  to  have  it  ready  against  his  waking, 
and  she  now  set  about  it,  leaving  him  to  talk 
with  her  husband. 


THE   ADVERTISEMENT.  399 

Adualina  came  in,  shortly  after,  from  a 
ramble  in  the  woods,  and  the  group  was  as 
happy  a  one  as  could  possibly  be. 

Jim  Boker  had  extended  his  hunt,  during 
the  day,  to  the  village,  where,  without 
exciting  suspicion,  he  managed  to  learn 
that  there  had  been  a  couple  of  men  on 
horseback,  inquiring  for  a  boy  and  girl 
that  had  run  away  from  the  circus.  They 
gained  no  information,  but  continued  on 
the  main  road,  and  he  believed  would 
return  to  Tecumseh  before  night. 

The  fugitives  felt  a  natural  fear  of  a  visit 
from  them,  but  their  Rip  Van  Winkle  host 
assured  them  there  was  no  danger.  No  one 
suspected  their  presence  here,  or  had 
noticed  their  coming  in  this  direction,  un 
less  it  might  be  the  tramp,  who  was  beyond 
reach  of  the  pursuer. 

The  supper  was  thankfully  eaten,  and 
then,  as  the  hour  was  early,  and  no  one  was 
in  a  sleepy  mood,  Lew  and  Adualina  by 
turns  entertained  their  friends  with  a  his 
tory  of  their  experience  in  show  life. 

Man  and  wife  sat,  with  open  mouth  and 


400  LIMBER   LEW. 

staring  eyes,  taking  it  all  in,  with  the  ab 
sorbing  enjoyment  of  a  couple  of  children 
listening  to  some  wonderful  fairy  or  ghost 
tale.  Now  and  then  they  broke  in  with 
a  gasping  exclamation,  that  encouraged  the 
lad  occasionally  to  exaggerate  a  little  more 
than  strict  truth  warranted. 

It  was  not  far  from  midnight  when  the 
happy  party  separated  until  morning.  Peg 
gy  shared  the  couch  in  the  upper  room  with 
Adualina,  while  Jim  went  into  partnership 
with  Lew,  and  their  slumber  was  undis 
turbed  by  the  visit  of  any  one. 

On  the  morrow,  their  host  made  another 
trip  to  the  village,  and  came  back  with  the 
gratifying  information  that  the  two  horse 
men  had  passed  through  again  on  their  way 
to  Tecumseh,  satisfied  that  the  parties  for 
whom  they  were  looking  must  have  taken 
another  direction. 

The  companions  remained  in  the  cabin 
several  more  days  and  nights,  making 
altogether  the  major  part  of  a  fortnight, 
during  which  they  managed  to  escape 
observation.  Very  few  people  came  that 


THE   ADVERTISEMENT.  401 

way,  and  those  that  did  were  detected  in 
time  for  the  guests  to  keep  out  of  sight. 
The  lad  often  delighted  Jim  and  Peggy  with 
exhibitions  of  his  agility,  which  so  "en 
thused"  the  old  fellow  that  he  nearly  dis 
located  his  neck  in  his  attempts  to  perform 
some  of  the  exploits. 

Hours  were  spent  in  conjuring  up  the  best 
method  of  getting  out  of  the  neighborhood, 
and  at  last  the  plan  was  matured.  Lew 
furnished  the  money  with  which  Jim  hired 
a  horse  and  carriage  in  the  village  for  a 
couple  of  days.  Peggy  and  Adualina  en 
tered  this,  the  latter  with  her  face  hidden  by 
a  green  veil,  and  her  dress  toned  down 
considerable,  and  they  drove  off  in  a  north 
ern  direction,  making  for  a  railway  station 
twenty  miles  distant. 

At  this  place,  in  accordance  with  a 
prearranged  plan,  the  girl  bought  a  ticket 
for  St.  Louis,  and  went  forward  in  the  train 
alone,  first  bidding  her  friend  an  affection 
ate  good  bye,  and  compelling  her  to  accept 
twice  the  remuneration  she  expected.  The 
start  from  the  cabin  was  made  in  the  night 


402  LIMBER   LEW, 

so  that  the  station  was  reached  early  in  the 
day. 

Peggy  at  once  returned;  the  horse  was 
given  rest  and  food;  and  at  the  same  hour 
of  the  succeeding  night,  Jim  took  the  reins 
in  hand,  and,  accompanied  by  Limber  Lew, 
he  went  over  precisely  the  same  route,  drop 
ping  him  at  the  station  in  time  to  take  the 
cars  just  twenty-four  hours  behind  his 
companion,  it  being  evident  that  by 
traveling  singly  they  were  less  liable 
to  molestation  than  if  they  went  to 
gether. 

Lew  shook  hands  over  and  over  again 
with  Jim,  and  assured  him  he  could  never 
forget  his  kindness,  and  forcing  a  handsome 
amount  of  money  into  his  hand,  he  waved 
him  good-by  from  the  platform  of  the  car. 
As  the  train  rounded  a  curve,  the  man 
turned  his  face  away,  and  the  boy  never 
saw  him  again. 

The  agreement  was  that  Lew  and  Adua- 
lina  should  meet  in  St.  Louis,  and  leave 
there,  in  the  night  train,  for  Baldwinstown, 
both  satisfied  that  if  that  city  could  be 


THE    ADVERTISEMENT.  403 

safely  reached,  there  was  very  little  to  fear 
beyond  it. 

She  would  know,  by  the  time  of  her 
own  arrival  in  the  Mound  City,  the  exact 
hour  when  he  would  be  due  there ;  so  that, 
barring  accidents,  there  was  no  cause  for 
delay. 

The  lad  felt  somewhat  uneasy  when  he 
found  himself  in  the  train,  surrounded  by 
strangers..  Holding  the  situation  he  had 
for  the  past  six  months,  he  was  fearful  of 
being  recognized,  in  which  case  he  believed 
there  would  be  great  danger,  because  not 
very  far  from  Tecumseh,  and  quite  close  to 
the  route  of  the  circus,  although  in  a  few 
hours  he  expected  to  diverge  to  the  east 
ward,  when  every  minute  would  take  them 
further  apart. 

It  occurred  to  him  that  he  might  escape 
observation  by  taking  a  paper,  shrinking 
down  in  the  corner  of  his  seat,  and  holding 
it  up  before  his  face,  as  much  or  a  little 
more  than  was  natural,  while  he  read  it  over 
and  over  again. 

Accordingly,  as  soon  as  he  gained  the 


404  LIMBER   LEW. 

chance,  he  bought  a  copy  of  the  goodly- 
sized  St.  Louis  Republican,  and  began  a 
perusal  of  the  northwest  corner,  with  the 
intention  of  going  clean  through  it,  ad 
vertisements  and  all. 

With  this  ambition,  he  kept  up  the  thing 
for  over  an  hour,  only  checking  himself  to 
pass  his  pasteboard  up  to  the  conductor  and 
get  it  punched,  and  to  change  cars,  as  they 
debouched  upon  a  more  important  and 
more  traveled  railway. 

He  was  thus  occupied,  when  his  eye 
was  arrested,  as  if  by  a  flash  of  light, 
ning,  by  the  following,  in  conspicuous 
type: 

"IF  THIS  SHOULD  MEET  THE  EYE  OF 
LEWIS  FENWICK,  he  is  requested  to  communicate 
at  once,  by  telegraph,  with  R.  Reynolds,  whose  ad 
dress  he  knows,  and  from  whom  he  will  receive  an 
important  message." 

"What  can  that  mean?"  gasped  the  boy 
as  the  letters  seemed  to  dance  and  swim 
before  his  eyes.  "What  important  news 
can  he  have  to  tell  me?  It  must  be  some 
thing  about  father !' '  he  added,  overwhelmed 


THE    ADVERTISEMENT.  405 

by  the  thought.  "I  am  afraid  he  is  dead 
and  I  will  never  see  him  again." 

There  was  enough  doubt,  however,  to 
prevent  his  breaking  down,  and  as  soon  as 
he  could  reason  with  clearness,  he  began  to 
inquire  what  means  were  at  his  command 
for  telegraphing  to  Captain  Reynolds. 

He  learned  from  the  conductor  that  a 
halt  of  several  minutes  would  be  made  at  a 
certain  junction  a  short  distance  ahead 
where  he  would  have  the  opportunity 
desired. 

The  half-hour  that  intervened  gave  his 
thoughts  time  to  crystallize,  and  hurry 
ing,  into  the  office,  he  wrote  and  sent  the 
following  telegram  to  the  captain: 

"Have  just  seen  your  advertisement.    Telegraph 
me  at  Southern  Hotel,  St.  Louis. 

LEW." 

It  was  now  late  in  the  afternoon,  and  he 
was  not  due  in  St.  Louis  until  far  in  the 
evening.  This  arrangement,  he  believed, 
would  give  the  captain  time  to  have  the 
telegram  taken  from  Birmingham  to  his 
house  and  to  send  his  answer.  It  was  a 


406  LIMBER   LEW. 

long  distance  for  the  message  to  travel 
there  and  back,  but  the  operator  was  im 
pressed  with  its  importance,  and  promised 
it  should  go  forward  without  delay. 

The  train  was  running  fast,  but  double  its 
speed  would  have  seemed  slow  to  the  im 
patient  youngster,  who  worked  himself 
into  a  fever  through  his  speculations  as  to 
what  the  nature  of  the  captain's  reply 
would  be.  Every  now  and  then  he  raised 
the  paper  and  read  the  advertisement, 
until  the  words  were  burned  into  his  brain. 
He  had  ceased  to  think  of  the  circus,  and 
he  cared  not  whether  he  met  the  whole  com 
pany  or  not. 

Somehow  or  other,  when  the  dark  shad 
ow  seemed  to  fall  upon  the  threshold  in  his 
far-away  home,  the  love  for  his  father  welled 
up  in  his  heart  with  a  power  which  at  any 
other  time  would  have  been  impossible. 
He  was  able  to  recall  more  than  one  kind 
ness  shown  him,  and  he  was  sure  there  were 
many,  many  occasions  when  he  had  been 
impulsive,  willful  and  disobedient. 

"And  to  think  of  my  running  away  and 


THE   ADVERTISEMENT.  407 

joining  the  circus !' '  he  added  to  himself,  as 
the  act  seemed  to  grow  into  the  dimensions 
of  a  crime.  "Many  boys  that  have  started 
in  that  way  have  brought  up  in  a  State 
Prison,  and  the  wonder  is  that  something 
dreadful  hasn't  happened  to  me.  I  do 
hope  father  isn't  dead!" 

And  covering  his  face  so  that  no  one 
would  notice  him,  he  wept — wept  until  the 
fountain  was  exhausted,  and  he  could  weep 
no  more. 

All  this  tune  the  train  was  rushing  for 
ward,  and  night  was  closing  in.  In  the 
abandon  of  his  grief,  Lew  forgot  the  lapse  of 
time,  and  he  was  the  most  astonished 
passenger  on  the  train,  when,  some  hours 
later,  its  speed  began  slackening,  and  he 
found  they  were  gliding  into  the  station 
at  St.  Louis. 

He  walked  only  a  short  distance  along  the 
platform,  when  he  encountered  the  familiar 
figure  of  Adualina,  her  face  still  hidden  by 
her  veil.  He  smiled  and  offered  her  his 
hand  as  they  met,  and  they  walked  away 
together,  talking  in  low  tones. 


408  LIMBER   LEW. 

"  Has  any  one  followed  or  watched  you?  " 
he  asked,  looking  about  for  suspicious 
persons. 

"There  was  a  man  in  the  cars  whom  I  was 
afraid  of.  He  got  off  at  the  station,  and 
kept  behind  me  for  a  long  distance;  but  I 
know  St.  Louis  pretty  well,  and  I  led  him 
into  some  of  the  by-streets,  and  then  I 
started  off  on  a  gait  that  soon  put  me  out 
of  his  sight,  in  spite  of  all  he  could  do,  and  I 
haven't  seen  him  since." 

"Are  you  sure  he  isn't  at  the  station?" 
inquired  Lew,  disturbed  by  the  news. 

"No;  I've  been  on  the  look-out  for  him, 
and  I'm  sure  he  isn't  anywhere  near." 

"I  don't  think  there  is  much  to  be  afraid 
of;  but  I  am  anxious  to  get  out  of  this  city 
as  soon  as  I  can." 

"Where  are  you  going  now?" 

"To  the  Southern  Hotel.  I  expect  to 
find  a  telegram  there  for  me." 

He  then  explained,  as  she  took  his  arm 
and  they  walked  briskly  along  the  street 
about  the  advertisement  in  the  paper,  the 
reply  he  had  sent,  and  his  anxiety. 


THE    ADVERTISEMENT.  409 

Going  to  the  telegraph  office,  he  reached 
it  the  very  minute  the  message  came  from 
Captain  Reynolds — the  long  distance,  num 
erous  connections,  and  the  location  of  the 
captain's  home  far  from  the  Birmingham 
office,  compelling  a  delay  of  some  hours. 

The  dispatch  merely  informed  the  boy 
that  his  father  was  quite  ill,  and  was  very 
desirous  of  seeing  him,  closing  with  the 
appeal  to  come  at  once.  Infinitely  relieved, 
but  still  anxious,  Lew  Fenwick  determined 
to  obey. 


410  LIMBER  LEW, 


H 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

HOME  AGAIN. 

EALTH  is  worth  all  the  money  in 
the  world,  and  a  pure  conscience  is 
worth  more  than  both.  Happy  is 
the  man  who  has  so  lived  that,  as  the  years 
weigh  him  down,  there  are  no  reminders 
of  "wild  oats"  sown  in  his  earlier  days; 
infinitely  happier  still  is  he  who  lived  so 
that,  when  he  hears  the 

"Summons  come  to  join 

The  innumerable  caravan  that  moves 

To  the  pale  realms  of  shade,  where  each  shall  take 

His  chamber  in  the  silent  halls  of  Death!" 

he  shall  go  with  that  "unfaltering  trust" 
which  robs  the  grave  of  all  its  terrors. 
Judge  Fenwick  had  been  blessed  with  the 
respect  and  confidence  of  his  fellow-men. 
He  had  received  political  honors  and  tasted 
of  the  sweets  of  fame ;  he  had  drank  the  cup 
which  is  always  sure  to  leave  bitter  dregs 
in  the  bottom ;  and  on  this  summer  evening, 


HOME   AGAIN.  411 

as  he  sat,  wan,  woak  and  faint,  before  the 
grate  in  his  library,  he  was  utterly  miserable 
and  wretched,  realizing,  in  its  entirety,  the 
emptiness  of  earthly  happiness. 

As  his  body  weakened,  his  mind  seemed 
to  clarify,  and  he  saw  wherein  he  had  made 
sad  errors. 

"Captain  Reynolds  has  been  the  truest  of 
friends/'  he  murmured,  as  he  folded  his 
hands,  closed  his  eyes  and  laid  his  head 
back,  in  one  of  his  mournful  reveries  of  the 
past. 

"When  others  fawned  and  flattered,  he 
told  me  the  truth,  and  I  was  angered  at 
him.  He  saw  how  the  habit  of  strong 
drink  was  growing  upon  me,  and  when  no 
one  else  spoke,  he  told  me,  and  I  was  an 
gered  again.  He  saw  what  a  blind  tyrant  I 
was  to  my  son  (God  knows  it  was  blindness !) 
and  he  came  to  my  house  and  protested 
like  a  man.  I  drove  him  out  with  rudeness 
and  insults,  and  made  a  wanderer  of  my 
own  child  and  a  wretched  parent  of  my 
self.  Oh,  how  the  old  days  come  back  to 
me,  when  Lewis'  merry  song  and  laughter 


412  LIMBER   LEW. 

rang  through  the  house — when  Inez,  his 
mother,  was  here,  and  all  was  sunshine  and 
happiness!  But  heaven  took  her  to  itself, 
and  I  cannot  blame  her  who  succeeded,  for 
she  was  my  choice.  She  did  the  best  she 
could,  according  to  the  light  within  her,  and 
I  failed  in  my  duty.  But  the  past  is  past, 
and  the  future  is  dark,  and  cold,  and  cheer 
less!" 

He  paused,  for,  just  then,  there  was  a 
gentle  knock  on  the  door,  which  he  had 
learned  to  recognize. 

As  he  said  "Come  in!"  it  was  pushed 
open,  and  the  cheery  face  of  Captain  Rey 
nolds  appeared. 

" You' re  the  best  medicine!"  said  the 
invalid,  extending  his  hand  in  response 
to  the  hearty  grip;  "and  I  wish  you  would 
come  twice  as  often  as  you  do.  But  I've 
got  beyond  the  help  of  medicine  of  any 
kind." 

"You're  getting  the  'hypo/  the  worst 
way.  You  must  walk  in  the  open  air  more, 
and  ride  on  horseback,  and  go  fishing,  and 
whistle,  and  come  over  and  dance  the 


HOME    AGAIN.  413 

Highland  Fling,  while  I  scrape  it  on  my 
fiddle. 

The  judge  shook  his  head. 

"I  have  no  heart  for  any  such  things. 
I  am  glad  to  see  your  face  and  hear  you 
talk,  but,  when  you  are  gone,  the  weight 
is  heavier  than  ever." 

"  Cheer  up,  judge.  I  think  you'll  soon 
see  Lew." 

"Have  you  heard  anything  from  him?" 
asked  he  father  with  a  start  and  glance, 
that  showed  how  intense  his  interest  was. 

"Well,  I  have  a  sort  of  feeling  to-day 
that  he  is  coming.  I  can't  shake  it  off. 
It  was  so  strong  on  me  that  I  was  compelled 
to  come  over  and  tell  you." 

"It  is  all  a  mistake — all  a  mistake!" 
said  the  old  man,  with  a  desponding  shake 
of  his  head.  "The  conviction  has  been 
growing  upon  me  that  he  is  dead — that  I 
am  nevermore  to  see  him,  and  nothing  can 
shake  it  off!" 

"Nothing?" 

"Nothing  at  all!" 

"Not  even  the  sight  of  the  boy  himself?" 


414  LIMBER   LEW. 

"Why  talk  in  that  idle  fashion?  Lewis 
is  gone — yes,  gone,  gone,  gone!" 

"But  Lewis  shall  come,  come,  come!" 

Just  then,  the  door  softly  opened,  and, 
as  it  was  pushed  back,  it  gave  out  a  soft 
creak,  that  caused  the  nervous  old  man  to 
turn  his  head.  The  same  minute  a  dark 
figure  rushed  across  the  floor,  and  threw 
his  arms  about  the  invalid's  neck. 

"Father!" 

"My  son — my  son!    God  be  thanked!" 

Captain  Reynolds  hurriedly  drew  out  his 
handkerchief,  which  was  about  the  size  of 
a  table-cloth,  and  blew  his  nose  and 
coughed,  and  cleared  his  throat,  and  reared 
his  head  backward,  as  if  resolved  to  show 
no  unmanly  weakness;  but  he  couldn't 
help  it,  and  he  gave  in,  and  stopped  playing 
the  hypocrite. 

The  poor  old  man  was  utterly  overcome. 
He  had  not  the  remotest  suspicion  of  the 
little  deception  that  was  played  upon  him. 

After  the  reception  of  the  telegram  by 
the  lad  at  St.  Louis,  a  regular  correspond 
ence  was  begun  and  maintained,  the  bulk 


HOME   AGAIN.  415 

of  it  being  carried  on  by  the  lad,  who,  in 
compliance  with  the  request  of  the  captain, 
kept  him  informed  of  his  progress  home 
ward,  telegraphing  at  all  important  points 
and  apprising  him  that  he  was  accompanied 
by  Adualina,  who  would  claim  his  hos 
pitality  for  a  short  time. 

Captain  Reynolds  kept  his  secret  from 
all  excepting  his  wife,  and  when  the  evening 
train  came  in,  he  and  Lew  entered  one 
carriage,  and  were  driven  rapidly  toward 
the  judge's  home,  while  Adualina  was 
taken  under  the  care  of  Mrs.  Reynolds, 
who  lost  no  time  in  having  her  conveyed 
to  and  made  welcome  in  their  household. 

As  Lew  bent  over  his  father  and  saw 
the  fearful  changes  that  a  year  had  wrought, 
the  tears  streamed  down  his  face,  and  he  felt 
as  if  his  heart  would  break. 

Father  and  son  wept  together,  while  the 
stillness  was  broken  only  by  the  tremendous 
efforts  of  Captain  Reynlods  at  hacking  and 
clearing  his  throat,  in  his  desperate  efforts 
to  recover  his  self-composure  before  they 
did. 


416  LIMBER   LEW. 

When  the  first  emotions  had  somewhat 
subsided,  Lew  drew  his  chair  beside  his 
father  and  sat  down,  his  hand  clasping  the 
thin,  raven-like  fingers  of  his  parent. 

"How  you  have  grown,  my  son!"  ex 
claimed  the  father  as  he  looked  admir 
ingly  at  his  boy.  "You  are  taller  and 
handsomer  and  the  picture  of  health  and 
strength." 

"I  wish  I  could  say  it  of  you,"  replied 
the  lad,  sadly;  "but  I  hope  you  will  pick 
up,  and  be  better  than  ever." 

"I  hope  so,  but  I  am  afraid  not.  How 
ever,  we  won't  think  of  that  now.  And 
you  have  come  to  stay  with  me,  Lew?" 

"Nothing  shall  ever  take  me  from  your 
side  again!" 

"When  did  you  arrive?" 

Thereupon  the  boy  proceeded  to  explain 
(what  has  already  been  made  known  to 
our  readers)  how  and  when  he  reached 
Birmingham,  from  which  point  the  captain 
had  driven  him  rapidly  homeward. 

On  the  way  thither,  it  was  arranged 
that  his  friend  should  precede  him  into  the 


HOME   AGAIN.  417 

library,  so  as  to  prepare  him  in  a  certain 
degree  for  the  meeting. 

It  cannot  be  claimed  that  the  captain 
displayed  any  wonderful  skill  in  the  per 
formance  of  this  duty. 

Lew  ran  in  and  saw  his  mother  for  a  few 
minutes  while  this  was  going  on,  and  al 
most  frightened  the  gentle  lady  into  a 
swoon.  After  a  hasty  interview,  he  hurried 
on  tiptoe  to  the  library-door,  where  he 
waited  a  few  seconds  until  everything  was 
ready. 

Just  after  he  seated  himself,  Samson 
(the  dog)  pushed  his  way  through  the  door 
and  looked  in,  as  if  to  inquire  whether  hie 
services  were  needed. 

Lew  called  him  by  name,  and  the  canine 
made  a  leap,  nearly  knocking  him  and  his 
chair  over,  and  it  was  hard  to  tell  which 
was  the  most  delighted  over  the  meeting. 

"Well,  I  don't  see  that  there  is  any  use 
for  me  here,"  observed  the  captain,  with 
mock  solemnity,  rising  to  his  feet,  hat  in 
hand,  his  manner  that  of  a  man  who  had 
been  ordered  out  of  the  house. 


418  LIMBER   LEW. 

"Good-night,  cap,"  said  the  judge, 
reaching  out  his  hand.  You'll  be  over 
eveiy  day,  and  if  I  have  enough  strength 
Lew  and  I  will  walk  over  to-morrow.  God 
is  good — kinder  to  me  than  I  deserve — 
but  how  shall  I  find  words  to  express  my 
gratitude  to  you?" 

"Don't  try  to  find  them!"  replied  the 
captain  impetuously.  "Don't  take  me  on 
that  tack,  judge;  for  I  came  near  breaking 
down  awhile  ago." 

His  eyes  looked  very  much  as  if  he  had 
"broken  down"  quite  recently. 

"But  you  know  it  would  be  churlish 
in  me — " 

"There!  there!  hangnation!     I — " 

And  out  came  the  immense  handker 
chief,  and  hacking  and  clearing  his  throat 
more  vigorously  than  ever,  the  captain 
hurried  out  of  the  room  and  away  from 
the  house. 


CONCLUSION.  419 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

CONCLUSION. 

"Judge  not  the  Lord  by  feeble  sense, 
But  trust  Him  for  His  grace ; 

Behind  a  frowning  Providence, 
He  hides  a  smiling   face." 

CAPTAIN  REYNOLDS  had  sent  his 
carriage   home  when   he   and  Lew 
Fenwick  reachedthe  house  of  Judge 
Fenwick,  and  he  started  to  walk  the  inter 
vening  distance.     It  was  not  far,  the  path 
leading  across  a  field  or  two,  and  through 
a  patch  of  woods.     As  may  be  supposed, 
the  captain  was  in  the  most  cheerful  frame 
of  mind  imaginable.     The  night  was  mild 
and  there  was  a  faint  moon  overhead. 

"The  whirligig  of  time  does  not  bring 
things  around  right,  as  it  strikes  me  I've 
heard  said.  Love  makes  the  world  go 
round,  whether  it  is  that  of  Damon  and 
Pythias,  Abelard  and  Heloise,  Antony 
and  Cleopatra,  or  Judge  Fenwick  and 


420  LIMBER   LEW. 

Limber  Lew.  When  he  lost  his  boy  it 
set  him  to  thinking;  his  love  for  his  child 
has  made  another  man  of  him.  He  has 
stopped  drinking  (and  between  you  and  me, 
Reynolds,  that's  the  main  trouble).  He 
wasn't  far  from  delirium  tremens,  and  he's 
very  weak  and  feeble  on  account  of  his 
system  trying  to  rally  and  recover  its  tone. 
The  return  of  the  youngster  will  bring 
things  straight.  I  don't  know,"  added  the 
captain  with  an  excusable  complacency,  as 
he  shoved  his  hands  deeper  into  his  pockets, 
and  took  an  extra  pull  at  his  cigar,  "whether 
in  looking  over  the  past,  I've  a  great  deal 
to  reproach  myself  for — that  is,  as  con 
cerns  this  affair.  We  won't  investigate 
anything  else  just  at  present.  Hello! 
what  the  deuce  is  the  matter?" 

This  query  was  caused  by  the  sight  of  a 
figure  in  the  path,  coming  rapidly  toward 
him.  There  was  enough  light  for  him  to 
see  that  it  was  a  woman,  and  a  minute 
later  he  recognized  her. 

"What  in  the  name  of  the  seven  wonders 
is  the  matter,  Bridget?" 


CONCLUSION.  421 

"Och,  master  Reynolds!  hurry  home 
as  quick  as  ye  can!  The  mistress  has 
sint  me  after  ye." 

"  What's  up?"  was  the  alarmed  inquiry. 

"Och,  I  can't  tell  ye!  but  do  ye  hurry 
up  and  see  for  yerself. " 

"Anything  the  matter  with  the  baby?" 

"Nothing    at    all — bless    its    sowl!" 

"The  mistress?  Tell  me  what  has  hap 
pened  to  her,"  he  demanded,  griping  her 
arm. 

"She  isn't  dead — she  isn't  hurt.  Och, 
don't  pinch  me  so  harrud!" 

"I'll  pinch  you  ten  times  harder  if  you 
don't  answer  me." 

"It's  the  girl  the  mistress  brought 
home." 

In  his  great  excitement  he  had  forgotten 
Adualina. 

"Well,  what  is  the  trouble  with  her? 
Is  she  dead?" 

"No;  but — but  do  yees  go  and  see  for 
yerself. 

The  captain  concluded  it  was  best  to 
do  as  advised. 


422  LIMBER  LEW. 

He  was  relieved  of  the  fear  of  anything 
serious  having  befallen  his  wife  and  child, 
but  mystified  as  to  what  it  could  all  mean. 
A  few  minutes'  run  brought  him  to  his 
own  door,  through  which  he  rushed  like 
a  half-crazy  man. 

There  sat  his  wife,  holding  the  head  of 
Adualina  to  her  breast,  with  both  arms 
around  her  neck.  Both  had  been  weeping, 
and  there  was  every  evidence  of  the  most 
thrilling  kind  of  a  "  scene, "  but  they  were 
ealmer  now. 

"What   does   all   this   mean,    Pet?" 

"Rudolph,  this  is  Inez,  our  long-lost 
child!" 

"My  God!" 

The  captain  turned  as  white  as  death, 
staggered,  caught  a  chair  and  dropped 
into  it,  as  if  stricken  by  a  rifle-shot.  He 
could  not  speak,  but  he  stared  like  one 
transfixed  by  some  dreadful  spell. 

Adualina  raised  her  head,  walked  quietly 
to  where  he  sat,  placed  an  arm  about  his 
neck,  kissed  his  forehead,  and  in  a  voice 
of  the  tenderest  sweetness,  said: 


CONCLUSION.  423 

"Father,   don't   you   know   me?" 
"Am  I  dreaming?    What  does  all  this 
mean?"  he  asked,  gazing  intently  at  her 
and  then  at  his  wife,  still  dazed  and  be 
wildered. 

"It  is  no  dream,  dearest  husband," 
replied  the  latter,  coming  over  to  him. 
"Hardly  had  Inez  taken  her  seat  in  the 
carriage  when  something  in  the  sound  of 
her  voice  startled  me.  Before  we  reached 
home  I  recognized  its  resemblance  to  that 
of  our  lost  darling.  I  concealed  my 
thoughts  as  best  I  could,  though  my  heart 
was  throbbing  with  hope,  and  I  questioned 
her  unmercifully.  When  we  reached  here 
I  led  her  into  the  glare  of  light  and  looked 
into  her  face.  Then  I  saw  it  all — she  was 
indeed  Inez.  I  called  her  by  name  and  she 
recognized  it,  and  she  remembered  me  too. 
I  hardly  know  what  followed,  but  there 
was  such  screaming  and  crying  that  Bridget 
rushed  into  the  room,  nearly  frightened 
out  of  her  wits.  I  had  enough  sense  to  tell 
her  to  go  for  you — and,  Rudolph,  how  can 
we  thank  heaven  for  all  its  mercies?" 


424  LIMBER   LEW. 

"We  can't." 

By  this  time  the  captain  had  regained 
control  of  himself,  and  pressing  Inez — 
as  she  must  now  be  called — to  his  heart, 
he  kissed  her  again  and  again,  while  tears 
of  gratitude  rolled  down  his  face. 

"  Pet, "  said  he,  "  ever  since  you  have  been 
my  wife,  I  have  seen  you,  when  I  was  at 
home,  go  down  on  your  knees,  night  and 
morning,  and  I  think  it's  about  time  I 
did  the  same  thing;  and  if  I  ever  forget 
it,  remind  me  by  breaking  a  broomstick 
over  my  head." 

And  then  and  there,  all  three  knelt 
down,  and  the  strong  man  poured  out  his 
very  soul  in  grateful  recognition  of  infinite 
mercy. 

When  at  last  he  arose,  he  compelled 
Bridget  to  bring  in  the  sleeping  baby, 
which  was  placed  in  its  mother's  lap,  and 
she  sat  upon  one  knee  of  the  captain  and 
Inez  (named  for  Lew  Fenwick's  mother) 
sat  upon  the  other,  and  there  was  happiness 
in  that  household,  such  as  belongs  to  the 
angels  in  heaven. 


CONCLUSION.  425 

Rest  for  Adualina  at  last.  No  more 
harsh  reproofs  and  cruel  blows;  no  more 
perilous  treadings  upon  the  suspended 
wire,  amid  the  plaudits  of  the  admiring 
thousands,  or  spinning  about  the  ring  upon 
the  back  of  the  galloping  steed;  no  more 
fleeing  through  woods,  hiding  in  the 
lonely  cabin,  and  speeding  in  terror  on 
railroad  trains;  no  more  persecution,  no 
unkindness,  no  rebuke — but  love  and  sweet 
rest! 

"  Bridget,  go  right  over  to  Judge  Fen- 
wick's  and  tell  him  I  want  to  borrow  Lew 
for  awhile." 

"But — but,  it's  quoit  late,  yer  honor." 

"Who  the  mischief  cares?  Here's  some 
thing  to  keep  the  kidnappers  from  running 
away  with  you." 

He  thrust  a  ten-dollar  greenback  into 
her  hand. 

"Go — run,  fly — and  bring  him  back  with 
you!  Tell  the  judge  I  want  him  only  for 
an  hour  or  two.  Off  with  you!" 

"Bedad!  but  I'll  go  back  and  forth  a 
dozen  times  a  night  for  such  wages  as  that !" 


426  LIMBER   LEW. 

she  exclaimed,  as  she  plunged  out  of  the 
door,  without  pausing  to  don  her  bonnet. 

When  the  amazed  Lew  arrived,  there  was 
another  joyful  scene. 

Captain  Reynolds  danced  the  Highland 
Fling,  pausing  now  and  then  to  hug  the 
breath  out  of  the  body  of  wife,  daughter 
and  baby.  He  flung  up  his  hat,  shook 
the  lad  again  and  again  by  the  hand,  and 
threatened  to  burn  down  his  own  house 
just  to  relieve  himself. 

At  last  quiet  reigned,  and  all  became 
more  rational.  They  sat  down  together, 
and  the  past  was  talked  over. 

Inez  told  everything  she  could  remem 
ber,  and  Lew  gave  the  history  of  his  first 
meeting  with  her — their  plot  to  run  away, 
and  the  particulars  of  their  flight. 

It  was  very  late  when  he  started  home 
ward,  and  it  appeared  to  him  that  he 
walked  a  mile  or  two  in  the  air  as  he  did  so. 

The  story  that  he  told  his  father,  when  he 
rejoined  him,  completely  upset  the  old  gen 
tleman,  for  he  could  not  but  rejoice  at  the 
wonderful  good  fortune  of  his  royal  friend. 


CONCLUSION.  427 

Night  at  last  drew  the  curtain. 

The  arrangement  was  that  Lew  Fenwick 
should  take  up  at  once  his  studies,  under 
the  direction  of  his  father  and  Captain 
Reynolds,  while  Inez,  as  a  matter  of  coursej 
was  given  every  advantage  that  wealth 
and  love  could  provide. 

The  return  of  Limber  Lew  was  unknown 
outside  for  several  days;  but  one  afternoon 
he  made  his  way  through  the  old  familiar 
path  in  the  woods,  and  came  to  the  spring, 
just  as  the  boys  were  tumbling  and  leaping 
in  their  old-fashioned  style. 

Such  shouting  and  hurraying  when  he  was 
seen!  The  youngsters  gathered  around, 
as  if  he  were  a  sugar  barrel,  and  each  was 
eager  to  enjoy  ahead  of  his  companion. 
There  were  Billy  Huggins,  Sam  Jones, 
Tom  Smith,  Dick  Davis,  Joe  Redfern, 
Jimmy  Clark,  Harry  Slack,  Lew  Swem 
and  all  of  them  looking  a  little  bigger  and 
jollier  than  he  had  ever  noted  before. 

Gibbs,  the  teacher,  was  compelled  to  rap 
angrily  upon  the  window  sash  three  times 
before  the  youngsters  came  trooping  in. 


428  LIMBER   LEW. 

He  restored  things  to  an  equilibrium,  how 
ever,  by  punishing  every  one.  This 
brought  back  his  usual  serenity  of  mind, 
and  he  walked  homeward  feeling  that  he  had 
done  his  duty  like  a  pedagogue  of  the  olden 
time. 

But  his  act  brought  matters  to  a  crisis. 
As  usual,  he  remained  in  the  school  build 
ing  the  greater  part  of  an  hour,  setting 
copies,  and  when  these  were  completed, 
he  started  homeward.  Suspecting  nothing, 
he  noticed  nothing  until  he  was  nearly 
opposite  the  old  still-house,  when  he  es 
pied  several  boys  peeping  around  the 
corner,  and  jerking  their  heads  back  when 
they  supposed  there  was  danger  of  his 
detecting  them. 

All  this  struck  him  as  singular,  and  as 
he  drew  near  and  saw  that  Billy  Huggins 
was  laboring  under  the  weight  of  a  double- 
barreled  shot-gun,  it  dawned  upon  him 
that  he  was  the  objective  point  of  the  ex 
citement.  The  worm  trodden  upon  had 
turned  at  last.  The  boys  had  revolted, 
and  after  the  wholesale  punishment  of 


CONCLUSION.  429 

that  afternoon,  they  leagued  together 
and  agreed  in  solemn  conclave,  no  matter 
at  what  cost,  to  end  their  tyranny. 

The  plan  first  agreed  upon  was  for  each 
to  load  himself  with  stones,  then  meet  be 
hind  the  still-house,  await  the  teacher's 
coming,  and  open  upon  him,  keeping  it 
up  till  their  ammunition  was  exhausted. 
Billy  Huggins  improved  the  plan  of  the 
campaign  by  stealthily  abstracting  his 
father's  gun.  Not  particularly  gifted  with 
intelligence,  it  was  his  deliberate  purpose  to 
empty  both  charges  into  the  corpus  of 
the  pedagogue. 

He  told  his  companions  that  he  would 
merely  pepper  him  a  little,  just  to  make 
him  yell  and  dance,  while  at  the  same 
time  his  intention  was  much  more  serious. 
He  meant,  after  disposing  of  the  tyrant, 
to  pretend  that  it  was  accidental,  relying 
upon  his  previous  declarations  to  acquit 
him  of  any  trouble  therefor — a  scheme 
which,  in  its  entirety,  he  felt  was  one  of 
the  most  brilliant  ever  conceived. 

Mr.    Gibbs,    while    yet    some    distance 


430  LIMBER   LEW. 

away,  as  we  have  shown,  caught  sight 
more  than  once  of  the  heads  of  the 
youngsters,  and  his  skill  in  detecting 
mischief  enabled  him  to  read  the  plot 
at  once.  Twenty  boys  were  there,  wait 
ing  only  for  him  to  come  a  little  nigher, 
in  order  that  they  might  stone  and 
shoot  him. 

What  should  he  do?  The  question  was 
a  most  important  one,  and  the  answer 
could  not  be  escaped.  If  he  went  ahead, 
the  consequences  were  certain — the  revolt 
was  too  earnest  for  him  to  frown  down. 
If  he  had  the  party  in  the  school-room, 
it  would  be  the  height  of  earthly  bliss 
to  pummel  them  into  submission;  but 
they  were  not  there. 

Should  he  turn  back?  That  would  be 
a  fatal  confession  of  weakness,  and  was 
not  likely  to  help  matters 

He  looked  about  in  the  hope  that  some 
one  was  coming  with  a  wagon,  that  he 
might  enter  and  ride  by  the  dangerous 
point;  for,  of  course,  the  youngsters  would 
not  attack  him  unless  he  were  alone;  but 


CONCLUSION.  431 

just  when  he  so  sorely  needed  it,  not  a 
vehicle  was  to  be  seen. 

All  this  time,  he  was  walking  slowly 
forward,  with  his  head  bent  down,  as  if  in 
reverie,  but  peering  out,  and  anxiously 
debating  the  situation.  He  had  no  doubt 
that  the  gun,  which  he  saw  wobbling  in 
the  hands  of  Billy  Huggins,  was  loaded, 
and  meant  for  him.  If  he  went  forward, 
he  would  probably  be  set  upon  and  com 
pelled  to  run,  all  the  way  home,  with  the 
boys  at  his  heels  stoning  and  shouting  at 
him.  Death  itself  could  not  be  worse 
than  that. 

Suddenly  a  thought  struck  him.  He 
would  act  as  if  he  had  forgotten  something 
at  the  school-house,  and  turn  back  for  it. 
The  lads  would  expect  his  speedy  return, 
and  wait  where  they  were.  In  the  mean 
time,  he  would  visit  the  homes  of  most  of 
the  youngsters  by  a  circuitious  route, 
and  acquaint  their  parents  with  the  dia 
bolical  plot,  calling  first  at  Mr.  Huggins',  and 
proving  to  him  that  he  was  the  proprietor 
of  an  embryo  criminal  of  the  deepest  dye. 


432  LIMBER   LEW. 

It  seemed  the  only  way  of  escape  out  of 
the  danger,  and  offered  such  an  inviting 
chance  to  flank  the  hated  youngsters, 
that  he  acted  upon  it  at  once,  his 
theory  being  that  none  of  them  was 
aware  that  he  had  penetrated  the  plot, 
and  they  would  take  his  action  as  natural 
in  itself,  and  not  influenced  by  any  fear 
of  them. 

He  stopped  suddenly,  jammed  his  right 
hand  in  his  right  trowsers'  pocket,  then  his 
left  into  the  one  upon  that  side;  then, 
in  the  same  hurried  fashion,  he  went 
through  his  vest  and  coat  pockets,  an  ex 
pression  spreading  over  his  face,  like  the 
man  who  finds  he  is  locked  out  at  night, 
and  has  lost  his  key.  Then  he  wheeled 
and  started  back,  as  if  he  had  little  spare 
time  on  his  hands. 

But  the  plan  did  not  work.  The  boys 
were  too  eager  to  restrain  themselves  any 
longer,  and  out  they  trooped  from  their 
hiding  places,  taking  the  action  of  the  ped 
agogue  as  an  evidence  of  fear. 

" Shoot    him!    stone    him!    mash  him! 


CONCLUSION.  433 

Don't  let  him  get  away!"  they  shouted, 
as  they  swarmed  after  him. 

"What  is  the  meaning  of  this?"  de 
manded  Gibbs,  wheeling  about  and  angrily 
facing  the  youngsters.  "Right  home  with 
you,  every  boy,  or  I'll  jog  your  memories 
for  you  to-morrow!" 

Just  then  he  saw  Billy  Huggins  straining 
and  grunting  in  his  efforts  to  get  his  heavy 
double-barreled  weapon  at  a  level,  so  as  to 
fire! 

All  authority  was  gone,  and  the  angered 
lads  steadily  drew  nearer,  only  for  the 
purpose  of  inflicting  the  more  certain 
injury. 

The  teacher  turned  pale,  and  wheeled 
about  to  run  for  life,  when  a  newcomer 
appeared,  darting  between  the  parties  and 
throwing  up  his  hands. 

"Stop,   boys!    None  of  that!" 

They  all  recognized  him,  and  paused. 

"  Why ,  Lew,  you  know  how  he  used  to 
lambaste  you!"  said  Billy  Huggins,  in 
amazement.  "Just  stand  aside,  and  let 
me  pop  him  over!" 


434  LIMBER   LEW. 

"I  thought  you  had  more  sense.  He's 
an  old  man,  and  can't  last  much  longer. 
Let  him  go." 

Gibbs  saw  who  his  rescuer  was,  and 
without  a  word  scowled  and  walked  home 
ward,  with  the  same  solemn  gait,  leaving 
Fen  wick  to  talk  it  out  with  his  young  friends. 

This  occurrence  brought  school  matters 
to  a  crisis.  Every  boy  concerned  played 
truant  on  the  morrow,  and  a  special  meeting 
of  the  trustees  was  held  at  the  house  of 
Judge  Fenwick.  Mr.  Gibbs  was  sent  for, 
and  persuaded  to  resign. 

During  his  long  years  of  teaching,  he 
had  saved  quite  a  competence,  and  being 
without  any  wife  or  family,  was  in  no  danger 
of  coming  to  want. 

A  younger  and  more  enlightened  in 
structor  was  put  in  his  place,  and  the  old 
gentleman  gradually  faded  out  and  van 
ished  from  the  earth,  as  the  school  under 
the  new  administration,  went  onward  and 
upward. 

Thus  may  the  race  forever  remain  ex 
tinct. 


CONCLUSION.  435 

In  the  autumn  of  the  year,  Lew  Fenwick 
entered  college,  the  training  he  had  re 
ceived  at  St.  Louis,  the  previous  winter, 
being  of  such  assistance  that,  under  the 
direction  of  his  father  and  Captain  Rey 
nolds,  he  had  no  difficulty  in  preparing 
himself.  After  completing  his  college 
course,  the  understanding  was  that  he 
should  take  up  the  study  of  law  in  his 
father's  office. 

Captain  Reynolds  was  seated,  one  after 
noon  in  the  early  autumn,  on  his  porch, 
smoking  his  cigar,  talking  with  his  wife, 
and  idly  watching  Inez,  as  she  played 
with  the  baby  around  his  chair  and  under 
neath  his  legs,  his  feet  being  elevated 
upon  the  railing. 

All  at  once,  Inez  uttered  a  scream  of 
terror,  and  abandoning  the  infant,  darted 
into  the  house. 

The  captain  sprang  to  his  feet,  to  learn 
what  the  matter  was,  when  he  observed 
that  a  coarse-featured,  ugly-looking  man 
had  approached,  unobserved,  to  where 
he  was  sitting. 


436  LIMBER   LEW. 

" Hello!  what  do  you  want?"  demanded 
the  captain,  angered  that  he  should  have 
come  up  in  such  a  cat-like  manner. 

"I  want  my  gal!"  was  the  sullen  re 
sponse;  "and  I'm  going  to  have  her,  too!" 

"Well,  who's  hindering  you?  Where 
is  she?" 

"She  seed  me  coming,  and  just  pitched 
into  the  house." 

A  light  flashed  in  upon  the  captain's 
vision. 

"Is  your  name  Johnson?" 

"Of  course  it  is!  What  more  do  you 
want  to  know?" 

"You've  been  traveling  with  Simpson's 
Circus  and  Menagerie?  I  don't  want  to 
make  any  mistake  about  it." 

"Wai,  you  hain't,  old  chap!  I'm  John 
son — I'm  the  one  that  that  gal  ran  away 
from,  and  I've  tracked  her  all  the  way  from 
St.  Louis,  and — : 

"And  you're  the  devil  I  want  to  meet." 

Captain  Reynolds  went  over  the  railing, 
like  a  Bengal  tiger,  and  had  the  wretch  by 
the  throat  before  he  was  aware  of  what 


CONCLUSION.  437 

was  coming.  These  good-natured  people 
have  the  worst  of  all  tempers  when  aroused, 
and  the  wonder  i£  how  Johnson  escaped 
with  his  life. 

Mrs.  Reynolds  caught  up  her  infant, 
and  ran  into  the  house,  while  the  captain 
certain  that  he  had  his  hands  upon  the 
abductor  of  his  child,  gave  him  so  terrible 
a  beating  that,  when  he  finished,  his  victim 
dropped  like  one  dead. 

The  German  hired  man  appearing  upon 
the  ground  at  this  juncture,  carried  John 
son  off  to  his  house,  where,  after  several 
days'  nursing,  he  recovered  enough  to 
leave  the  neighborhood,  and  was  seen  no 
more. 

The  succeeding  summer,  when  Lew  Fen- 
wick  was  home  from  college  upon  his  va 
cation,  Simpson's  Circus  and  Menagerie 
showed  in  Birmingham,  and  he  visited  it. 

By  some  means  or  other,  Girton  had 
learned  the  true  history  of  Adualina,  that 
was,  and  he  was  manly  enough  to  con 
gratulate  his  young  friend  upon  the  provi 
dential  results  of  that  flight. 


438  LIMBER  LEW. 

Johnson,  the  abductor,  had  not  been 
seen  since  he  started  to  overtake  the  fugi 
tives. 

Perkins,  the  bare-back  rider,  was  still 
with  them,  and  had  not  drank  a  drop  of 
liquor  for  over  a  year,  and  business  was 
reported  good. 

On  the  morrow,  Girton,  Perkins,  the 
matron,  and  in  fact  all  the  old  friends 
of  Inez,  drove,  by  invitation,  to  her  home, 
where  the  captain  entertained  them  at 
dinner,  and  they  remained  several  hours. 
Saddened  at  parting  company  with  one 
who  had  always  been  such  a  favorite 
they  yet  rejoiced  with  her  in  the  good  for 
tune  that  caused  this  separation. 

We  feel  there  is  scarcely  the  need  for 
writing  these  closing  lines.  That  Judge 
Fenwick  regained  to  a  large  extent  his 
former  health  and  strength;  that  Limber 
Lew  was  graduated  with  distinction, 
studied  law  and  passed  a  brilliant  examina 
tion  and  took  up  the  practice,  under  the 
guidance  and  counsel  of  his  father — the 
prestige  of  whose  name,  united  with  the 


CONCLUSION.  439 

son's  own  talent  and  perseverance,  brought 
him  work  and  competence;  that  Inez 
grew  into  a  beautiful  and  lovable  woman; 
that  all  in  due  time  she  and  Lew  were 
married ;  all  these  are  such  matter-of-course 
incidents  that,  as  we  say,  we  hardly  see 
the  call  for  putting  them  upon  paper. 

Captain  Reynolds  having  once  lost  and 
recovered  his  daughter,  insisted  that  her 
home  should  remain  with  them — the  pe 
culiar  affection  which  he  and  his  wife 
held  toward  Lew  being  such  that  there 
was  a  certain  propriety  and  pleasure  all 
around,  when  the  young  lawyer  made 
his  home  with  them. 

And  so,  as  we  are  all  a-sailing  upon 
life's  ocean,  we  salute  and  bid  one  another 
good  speed. 


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EDWARD  S.  ELLIS 

Stories  dealing  with  pioneer  life  will  always  have  an 
attraction  for  the  young;  and  although  the  conditions  are 
idealized  and  the  dangers  forgotten  in  the  glamour  and 
picturesqueness  which  are  thrown  around  them,  yet  it  is 
better  when  they  are  presented  in  the  form  which  Mr.  Ellis 
gives  to  them  than  in  an  ultra-sensational  and  often  harm 
ful  shape. 

Each  volume  is  well  illustrated,  carefully  printed  on 
good  paper,  and  handsomely  bound  in  extra  quality  of 
ribbed  cloth,  with  side  and  back  stamped  in  colors.  12rno. 

LIST    PRICE    75    CENTS    PER    VOLUME 


Across  Texas  Path  in  the  Ravine,  The 

Brave  Tom  Phantom  Auto,  The 

Brave  Billy  Plucky  Dick 

Cabin  in  the  Clearing  Righting  the  Wrong 

Cruise  of  the  Firefly  River  Fugitives,  The 

Fire,  Snow  and  Water  Storm  Mountain 

Four  Boys  Tarn,  or  Holding  the  Fort 

Great  Cattle  Trail,  The  Teddy  and  Towser 

Hunt  on  Snow  Shoes,  A  Through  Forest  and  Fire 

Honest  Ned  Up  the  Forked  River 

Jack  Midwood  Wilderness  Fugitives,  The 

Lena  Wingo,  the  Mohawk  Wyoming 

Limber  Lew,  the  Circus  Boy  Young  Conductor,  The 

0n  the  Trail  of  the  Moose  Young  Ranchers 

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THE  JOHN  C.  WINSTON  CO. 

1006-1016  ARCH  STREET         PHILADELPIHA 


GREAT    PICTURES 

AS    

MORAL  TEACHERS 

By  HENRY  E.  JACKSON 


A  Recognition  of  the  Value  of  Pictures  in  Teaching 

The  author  has  selected  twenty  of  the  world's 
great  pictures  and  sculptures  and  interpreted  the 
meaning  which  the  artist  intended  to  convey. 

People  are  awakening  more  and  more  to  the 
value  of  works  of  art  in  teaching.  They  are  regain 
ing  a  truer  perspective  and  saner  judgment  in  re 
gard  to  them.  That  pictures  are  of  great  value  in 
teaching  certain  forms  of  knowledge  is  not  now 
questioned;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  approved  and 
practiced.  In  view  of  this,  the  need  arises  for 
careful  selection  and  education  of  the  popular  taste. 
The  present  work  is  intended  to  meet  this  need. 
The  author  has  chosen  his  subjects  with  great  care 
and  adopted  as  his  interpretation  the  consensus  of 
opinion  among  great  critics. 


The  subject  is  treated  in  a  manner  to  interest  not 
only  students  of  religious  history  and  movements, 
but  those  viewing  it  from  a  purely  artistic  stand 
point.  The  work  contains  twenty  fine  half-tone 
engravings  made  from  authorized  photographs  of 
tke  original  paintings  and  sculptures. 

Price $1.50 

The  John  C.  Winston  Co.,  Publishers 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


